If you enjoy board games like Yahtzee but want to change things up a little, you’re going to love this collection of dice games that use similar mechanics and have similar goals but come packaged in entirely different moods. Check ‘em out and see which themes might vibe with the crew on your next game night.
Introduction to Dice Games
Dice games have been a staple of entertainment for thousands of years, with evidence of dice dating back to ancient civilizations in Egypt, Greece, and Rome. These games have evolved over time, incorporating various themes, mechanics, and strategies to cater to different tastes and preferences. In this article, we will delve into the world of dice games, exploring their history, types, and benefits, as well as highlighting some popular examples.
The Most Playable Games Like Yahtzee
Qwixx Deluxe
Age: 8+ Players: 2-8 Time: 20 minutes
In Qwixx Deluxe, one of the most popular games like Yahtzee, players are given a dry-erase board and marker and 6 dice each game to try to score as many points as possible with a bit of strategy in tow. The whole family – aged 8 and up anyway – can enjoy this fast-paced, 20-minute game. Every player uses their dry-erase score pad to track 4 colored rows along with their dice rolls. Yellow and red rows contain numbers ascending from 2 to 12. Green and blue contain numbers descending from 12 to 2. Players have 2 white dice, 2 black and white dice, and 1 die of each color, which they simultaneously roll while others play along on their own boards. Players earn points by rolling and marking off dice in as many totals as possible, but they can only mark off a number if it’s to the right of all marked-off numbers in the same row.
To put it more directly, an active player rolls the 6 dice. Players all mark off the sum of the 2 white dice on one of their rows, while the active player may mark off the sum of one colored dice and one white die in the row of the chosen colored die. Players aim to mark off as many numbers in a row as possible while avoiding penalties for skipping some numbers. These penalties add up – and whenever a player has four penalties or a second colored row winds up locked, the game ends instantly. At this point, everyone tallies their points on each colored row, sums up these numbers, subtracts five points for every penalty, and then compares scores with each other. Whoever has the highest score wins the game.
Aerion
Age: 10+ Players: 1-2 Time: 15 minutes
In Aerion, 1 to 2 players find themselves immersed in the world of Oniverse, where flying machines grace the sky before airplanes are a reality. The cooperative game (or solo!) puts players into the roles of airship wrights – or the inventors of these flying machines – who are challenged to create a whole new fleet of the most aesthetically, yet functional airships possible.
Players use dice rolls to acquire the components needed to build these ships, along with finding the best blueprints, recruiting the most qualified crew members, and gathering the most useful construction materials. The game combines dice play with card game mechanics – both of which affect the benefits of the other. And you’ve got to watch out for how quickly you go through your resources. You may not have enough to complete the game.
You can find six expansions for the game of Aerion for even more fun, but as a stand-alone, this beautifully crafted game offers hours of fun for everyone who takes on the challenge.
Dice Throne Adventures
Age: 8+ (Community 10+) Players: 1-4 Time: 90-120 minutes
If you’re looking for some fantasy adventures in your games like Yahtzee, grab a copy of the amazingly fun Dice Throne Adventures. The cooperative game is an expansion on the original Dice Throne, that uses exploration, gold, minions, boss battles, unique key figures, upgrades, and other treasures to explore the fantasy world of dice rolling fun. This game is perfect for fans of strategy games who enjoy a mix of fantasy and dice rolling.
The expansion allows 4 people to play heroes in this fantastical world, but they must work together while they travel from Crimson Sands to the Mad King’s Throne Room. As the game plays out, every hero gains permanent deck upgrades. Ultimately, you’ll all face the powerful King – who hasn’t lost a battle yet in a thousand years! – and you never know who’s going to win in this dice-throwing championship.
Special notes:
Many folks play this game over a series of game nights – truly taking on a role-playing game-like feel.
You’ll need Season 1, Season 2, or Marvel characters to play this expansion.
D-Day Dice Rolling
Age: 14+ (Community 10+) Players: 1-4 Time: 45 minutes
Travel to D-Day in the war-themed dice game like Yahtzee, D-Day Dice. The setting: June 6, 1944 – Normandy, France. You’ve landed on the well-defended beaches with a German machine gun nest nearby, taking out your comrades in arms – and you’re the only one who can stop the massacre.
In this game based on real-world events, players take on the roles of Allied soldiers aiming to stop the Axis from winning the horrific war. Every player must improvise units to attack against the machine gun nest, using only a few soldiers who’ve just landed on the beach. Gameplay advances as players collect resources, and move forward on the beach – one sector at a time – growing their units in strength as they pick up more soldiers along the way.
The multiplayer co-op game has players taking turns simultaneously to keep themselves and each other alive. The gameplay is built around dice but also uses resource management (specialists, items, courage, and soldiers) to ultimately find success. Players must also strategically decide how to handle the remaining dice they haven’t selected for scoring or further play. Everyone keeps their resources each turn, so players can plan ahead and use real strategies instead of solely hoping for good luck.
If you love the game, you can find 3 expansions for even more fun: D-Day Dice: Operation Neptune, D-Day Dice: Atlantikwall, and D-Day Dice: Normandy.
Twilight Inscription Strategy Games
Age: 14+ (Community 12+) Players: 1-8 Time: 90-120 minutes
Using colorful, custom dice for an epic roll and write game experience, Twilight Inscription is one of the best games out there for folks looking for a Yahtzee vibe with a twist. The setting: The Lazax Empire saw rejection by its subjects who burnt it to ash, with an aftermath of petty conflict and desperate tragedy. In the years since factions of the galaxy have sought to recover their strength and now are looking for new opportunities to reclaim what was lost and a chance to rewrite the stars.
This sci-fi-themed game works for 1 to 8 players, with a limited pool of resources with which players must carefully manage the expansion, navigation, warfare, and industry in the galaxy. Each of these tasks earns players Victory Points and ultimately, whoever amasses the most will rule from the Throne of Mecatol Rex. The sheer luck of the roll is enough to offer loads of replayability but toss in player strategies, and the gaming fun is unending.
Yamslam
Age: 8+ (Community 6+) Players: 2-4 Time: 15 minutes
For another fast-paced game like Yahtzee, grab your copy of Yamslam, a fun-filled game of strategic choices and odds using six dice. Players use 5 dice to take calculated risks, merged with their strategic plans, to see if luck will help them in the end. After every dice roll, players choose the dice they’ll keep for the best possible combinations. Every combo scores a different point value and only gives 4 chips. Choosing wisely which to keep and which to throw will greatly impact your chances. You’ve got to race your fellow players to special bonuses, too, in that 15-minute game of chance.
The game comes with a carrier made from recyclable tin, is highly durable and extremely portable – making it the perfect game for camping, road trips, or even a day at the beach.
Dinosaur Island Rawr ‘n Write Roll and Write Game
Age: 10+ Players: 1-4 Time: 30-45 minutes
In a world where dinosaurs are attractions and theme parks are way safer than the famous fictional Jurassic Park, players will experience loads of delight in Dinosaur Island: Rawr ‘n Write. This game is the roll-and-write version of the beloved – and critically acclaimed – Dinosaur Island.
To play, everyone drafts dice and uses them in the place of workers in this worker-placement mechanism. After this phase, gameplay moves on to a polyomino puzzle phase in which players fit their attractions and dinosaurs into their theme parks, while also building roads and pathways to the exits, creating the perfect dinosaur adventure for guests. Players will need to strategically use matching dice to fit their attractions and dinosaurs into their theme parks. Ultimately, whoever scores the most points through the use of their dazzling dice wins the game.
Favor of the Pharaoh
Age: 13+ (Community 8+) Players: 2-4 Time: 45 minutes
Travel back to the ancient days of Egypt, when Pharaohs ruled and pyramids added stature to gain the Favor of the Pharaoh. Back then, anyone could seek an audience with the Pharaoh, even the lowest peasant – and in this game, players must work to find that favor before coming into the throne room for an audience with the king. Players must work their way up through the social ranks as represented by dice and powers, gain the Queen’s influence, and ultimately win the Favor of the Pharaoh. The game’s complex mechanics and strategic depth make it a great alternative to Dice City.
Players use dice-rolling engines with additions and manipulations of dice to prepare themselves for the final showdown and victory. As the game progresses through the use of over 20 dice, players also lay down tiles, play bonus tokens, engage level bars and locking pyramids, and much more. The various components make this game a bit more advanced in the game mechanics than Yahtzee, but the overall vibe is there: successful dice rolls win you the victory.
That’s Pretty Clever
Age: 8+ Players: 1-4 Time: 30 minutes
That’s Pretty Clever (or Ganz schön clever in the original German) is a wildly fun dice game like Yahtzee that the whole crew will love. You’ll need to choose your dice wisely to toss them into the mix of matching colored areas on your score sheet while putting together tricky chain-scores, and grabbing as many points as possible. Interestingly enough, the dice you don’t use matter as much as those you do, as dice with lower values may wind up in use by other players. No one’s eliminated as these colorful dice roll wildly – so it’s a fantastically fun option for kids as young as 8 to stay engaged and active in the game (with as much chance to win as parents!). Typical games last about 30 minutes and work as solo play or for groups of up to 4. This game is perfect for those who love to play games that involve both luck and strategy.
Three Sisters
Age: 14+ (Community 12+) Players: 1-4 Time: 30-60 minutes
If you didn’t know you could start a garden with dice, now you do – and you’re welcome! Three Sisters is a thrilling, agriculture-focused board game that delights plant lovers and game fans alike with its unique mechanics, lovely artwork, and intriguing theme. The game requires a bit of strategy, too – it’s not all up to chance.
In the game, players have their own sheets for the roll-and-write scoring of the game. Each sheet contains multiple areas of the garden including three crop zones, an apiary, the perennials section, compost, goods, the shed, and the fruit section. Every player aims to grow their crops, and flowers, and maintain hives by following dice-rolling tracks that get marked off as players acquire the items necessary for the tasks. Several tracks are interconnected and grant bonuses along the way.
The game lasts for 8 rounds, during each of which players roll dice – based on the number of players – then group them by number, and place them on action spaces to advance gameplay. Players then draft another die and either plant or water a given zone (that matches the value of the die) or take the action of the space from which the die was removed. Other actions include gaining compost for healthy plants, marking off hives, completing fruit tracks, visiting a farmer’s market with goods to sell, and collecting tool racks for the shed. After the 8 rounds end, players score points for their harvested crops, perennials, apiary, fruit, and shed items. Whoever scores the most points wins.
Conclusion
If you love the concept of a Yahtzee game but need a little spice, you’ll definitely want to grab some copies of these games for your next game night. With themes from Ancient Egypt and WWII at play, along with dinosaur adventures, airships, and fantasy worlds, you’re in for a real treat. Be sure to consider the crowd side and ages before you invest in your favorite games like Yahtzee and you’ll be all set. Happy gaming!
Also Read: The 10 Best Dice Games for Adults
FAQ
What are some popular games like Yahtzee that involve dice rolling?
Some popular games like Yahtzee that involve dice rolling include Qwixx Deluxe, Aerion, Dice Throne Adventures, D-Day Dice, and That’s Pretty Clever. These games incorporate similar mechanics but offer unique themes and experiences.
How does Qwixx Deluxe differ from the traditional Yahtzee game?
Qwixx Deluxe differs from traditional Yahtzee by using a roll-and-write mechanic with dry-erase boards and markers. Players roll six dice and track scores on colored rows with ascending and descending numbers, aiming to mark off as many numbers as possible while avoiding penalties.
What makes Dice Throne Adventures a great alternative to Yahtzee?
Dice Throne Adventures is a great alternative to Yahtzee because it combines dice rolling with fantasy elements and cooperative gameplay. Players explore a fantasy world, upgrade their heroes, and face off against powerful bosses, offering a strategic and immersive experience.
Can you play Aerion solo, and what is its main objective?
Yes, Aerion can be played solo. The main objective is to build a fleet of airships by rolling dice to acquire necessary components, blueprints, and crew members. The game challenges players to manage resources efficiently while enjoying its cooperative gameplay.
What is the theme of Dinosaur Island Rawr ‘n Write, and how is it played?
Dinosaur Island Rawr ‘n Write is themed around building a dinosaur theme park. Players draft dice to use as workers in a worker-placement mechanism, then solve polyomino puzzles to fit attractions and dinosaurs into their parks. The goal is to score the most points by creating the best park layout.