The Impace of Cursed Dice

I got the chance to re-play some games from the collection this weekend. We play a lot of new games, so it was nice to play something familiar. Playing these games was like wearing sweatpants to a wedding. It felt strange, but very comfortable.

Impact: Battle of Elements

Impact: Battle of Elements from Ravensburger is a re-implementation of the cult-classic, Strike. I love this game, even though there’s no quantifiable reason to. The game has limited strategy, player elimination, and it plays in less than 15 minutes. The game is entirely random with push-your-luck and dexterity elements that create the illusion of control. Players roll dice, one at a time, into the padded game box. If they roll a match, they add all of the matching dice to their supply, and the turn ends. You’ll remove dice that fly out of the box and all blank results. If you don’t roll a match, you can choose to roll another one of your dice to make a match, hopefully. The goal is to be the last player with dice. This game works with my kids, my parents, non-gamers, and full-blown gamers alike. Plus, this version has variants that utilize the dice faces for hilarious results. Impact: Batte of Elements is fast, exciting, and full of wild swings in luck, but it never outstays its welcome.

Cursed Court

I was able to get Cursed Court to the table again, and it went over very well. Cursed Court feels like Texas Hold’ Em Poker without the poker hands and more deduction. Cards, depicting royals, are dealt between the players. Each player knows the cards on either side of them, but not all of the cards in play. Then, cards are dealt into a public display for all players to see. Players bluff and bet on the distribution of royal cards dealt and earn points based on a pre-determined payout system. The player with the most points at the end of three rounds wins. I enjoy this game the most with three players, and I’ve had luck with a wide range of player types. The rules are simple, and the opportunity to bluff your way into points is a blast. I think there is a lot of depth here if you play with the same group repeatedly. Although, watch out for the scantily clad lady on the game board. I like her, but some folks might not even if she has a great personality.

Dice Forge

I love rolling dice. I love rolling dice every turn. I get to do that in Dice Forge by Libellud. In Dice Forge, you and your opponents are replacing the faces on your two chunky dice to make them more powerful. You actually pop a side of your dice off and put a new one on it! Dice Forge has a tactile, almost LEGO, aspect that enhances the gameplay. Did I mention you get to roll your dice every turn? It’s awesome. As the game progresses, your dice get stronger as you purchase new dice faces with gold, use crystals to buy special powers, and amass victory points. This game might be a little daunting to new players, but after the rules explanation, the gameplay is pretty straightforward. I like it, and I’m looking forward to trying out the expansion when I get a chance.