The combination of symbols shown by the three dice in a given action space then decides how effective the action is. The dice have symbols on them and by placing a dice on an action space, you knock out one of the three dice already on that space. Here you have four action spaces that you can choose from and two dice. There is also another way to approach dice placement, as used in Rise of Tribes by Breaking Games.

That means you have to think on your feet on every turn and can’t plan too far ahead, because the roll of the dice will affect what you can achieve. Artifacts Inc. by Red Raven Games is probably my favourite example for this type of mechanism, where action spaces can only accept certain dice, based on the number of pips rolled. The dice mechanics I describe below use this element of randomness and take it to another level.ĭice placement extends the classic worker placement mechanic and uses the pips on the dice as a way to influence what workers can do. It allows everyone to have a roughly equal chance of winning. However, more recent games use dice in quite different ways, creating interesting game mechanics that I want to talk about.ĭice games, where you roll dice rather than use them for counting down hit points or such like, introduce an element of randomness, which is always a good way of leveling the playing field for players with varying experience or levels of strategic thinking. You may also have heard of, and probably even played, roll and write games, such as Roll to the Top, Avenue, The Castles of Burgundy: The Dice Game and many more. We all know classic dice rolling games, like Yahtzee, or games using dice to decide the outcome of battles or events.

Table game with dice