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As a fan of Dungeons & Dragons, and similar tabletop fantasy games, I have a keen interest in dice and their usage, so, when I saw this Dicecapades game on the toy shelf at the store, absolutely loaded with said objects, I was instantly intrigued. I figured that, even if I ended up not liking the game, it was worth it just for the dice alone.
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The goal of Dicecapades is simple: be the first player to reach the "end" space and successfully complete one final card challenge to win. Of course, reaching that area, located at the center of the board, will take some doing! At the beginning of each player's turn, they select a card from one of the three piles, which is dictated by the color of the area of the board that their playing piece currently resides in. Blue is "Actionland", with the corresponding cards featuring challenges that generally incorporate something more physical in nature (drawing things/objects, stacking/balancing dice, impersonations, doing sit-ups/push-ups equal to the number rolled, etc.) Yellow is "Thinkingtown", and, naturally, those cards feature activities that require using your brains (rolling various sums/matches, wordplay using the letter dice, simple math, etc.). Finally, red is "Triviaville" which always plays out the same way: you give the card on the top of the deck to the player on your left, roll the six-color die, and then they ask you the corresponding trivia question listed on said card (if you roll black, the other player gets to choose which of the five questions they want to try to stump you with). Successfully completing a challenge allows you to advance on the board the number of spaces indicated on the card. It's worth noting that, depending on the card and outcome of the challenge, the results may benefit other players and not just you. For example, when a card directs you to draw a picture and another player successfully guesses what it is that you've illustrated, you advance two spaces, but the correct guesser also gets to move ahead one space too.
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The box claims that over a hundred dice are included, and that's no exaggeration. You get 105 all together:
5 six-sided black number dice.
6 six-sided brown dot dice.
60 six-sided ivory number mini dice.
6 six-sided picture dice.
6 six-sided letter dice.
1 six-sided six-color die.
1 six-sided "funky" die (a small blue die encased inside a larger transparent die).
5 eight-sided red number dice.
5 ten-sided blue number dice.
5 twelve-sided green number dice.
5 twenty-sided yellow number dice.
What? No 4-sided dice (pyramids)?
I really love that die-within-a-die; it's a simple design concept, but an incredibly creative idea that I've never seen done before now. In D&D terms, I like to think of it as my special 2D6 die. I also like the inclusion of the two plastic white trays, with molded labels corresponding to each die type, which are a convenient way to keep all of your dice organized (there's also a little plastic baggy for those sixty little dice, as they're the easiest to lose).
In addition to the instructions, folding game board, 100 cards, 6 player pawns, and 105 dice, you also get a 30-second sand hourglass (many of the challenges use that for the time limit) and a pad of paper and pencil for when a card directs you to draw or write something.
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I wasn't sure what to make of Dicecapades, just from looking at the photos and descriptions on the box, but, after giving it a whirl, I found it to be a pretty novel and interesting experience. It's kind of like a bunch of other games (Pictionary, Trivial Pursuit, etc.) all rolled up into one. The variety of challenges/activities should keep it fresh for a long time and it'd make a great party game (if you've got more than six people, the rules even allow for you to play in teams, so everyone can get in on the fun). Depending on your players' temperament and physical condition, some of the Actionland challenges might not be a good fit for everyone, but, other than that, I heartily recommend Dicecapades if it sounds appealing to you.
