After the party game Danger the Game, the Dicey Devices the first major game from the still young publisher Origami Whale from the USA KickstarterAnd it's a fun and interesting game! As mad scientists, we have to eliminate each other, because only one can rule the world. Find out what the game is like in this article. Crowdfunding preview.
Note: We received a prototype of the game from Origami Whale for preview purposes. The final product may therefore still contain various changes.
On a dark, stormy night, lightning struck your garage, giving you a jolt… a flash of inspiration! Your mind is now brimming with innovative ideas! An Igor, drawn by your maniacal laughter, enters your garage: "Master!" he shouts, "I've finally found you!" Immediately, you set about building a death ray and seizing world domination! With no money and even less common sense, you scavenge scrap to bring the grandiose designs of your unbridled mind to life. But there are others… Others who also want world domination… But there can only be one.
Thematically, directly into the game action
The game's story leads us directly to its objective: eliminate all your opponents. The last one standing wins. Essentially, Dicey Devices is a mix of engine builder, area majority, and set collection games. Throughout the game, we expand our lab using scrap collected from the junkyard, striving to generate increasingly powerful action combos. To do this, we gather scrap, send our robots to the junkyard, and collect gadgets, which we then build with our collected scrap and distribute throughout our lab. Each gadget helps strengthen our lab and brings us closer to building the deadly death ray and annihilating our opponents. However, death doesn't necessarily mean the game is over. Your assistant, Igor, is by your side throughout the entire game, attempting to revive you and keep the lab running if you die.
When it's our turn, we go through six phases in succession: the revival phase, the shooting phase, the lab phase, the gathering phase, the deployment phase, and finally, the cleanup phase. In the first phase, our assistant Igor tries to revive us if we're dead. To do this, we roll two so-called lab dice and must roll a pair. If we fail, we can alternatively spend six scrap to bring our dead scientist back to life, as this is the only way to proceed to the second phase – the shooting phase. If we remain dead, however, the second phase is skipped, and Igor takes care of the lab (phase three).
If we survive, in the second phase we try to kill the other mad scientists. Depending on how well our player board is developed, we can fire more and better shots. To do this, we choose an opponent and both roll the dice. Depending on their development, the attacker can roll one or two dice, or even a special die, with the highest result counting. The defender can then make a defensive roll with one die. The player with the higher number wins. If it's the attacker, they damage the opposing scientist. If it's the defender, they successfully defend against the attack. Depending on your development, you can also manipulate your own dice roll. This allows you to actively influence whether you damage someone or prevent damage. This information is always readily available, making the attack quite tactical.
The expansion of our laboratory
In our case, the laboratory serves as our personal game board. During the third phase, we execute our actions here. We roll two laboratory dice and use the rolled numbers to trigger a series of actions. Our laboratory has a total of 12 action spaces, which can be filled with cards or gadgets. We can distribute the two rolled dice results among the spaces in the laboratory or combine them to activate spaces further back. We can then activate all actions located to the left of or below the dice. These actions allow us to influence the game in various ways, particularly affecting the events in the junkyard.
This becomes relevant in Phase 4, the collection phase. The junkyard consists of 6 sectors. The dice rolls from the two lab dice in Phase 3 determine which sectors are activated. Whoever has the majority of robot dice gets to decide first whether to buy a gadget or simply collect scrap. If you had a good impact on the junkyard during the lab phase, you can make significant progress here and pave the way to victory. Collecting the right cards and forming specific sets activates your death ray for Phase 2. Furthermore, this allows you to expand your lab and gain increasing influence over the game.
Only after the collection phase does the deployment phase begin, where new robots are placed on the platform to gain a majority in areas. Therefore, collecting gadgets can be important, allowing you to deploy your robots in advance during the lab phase. Additionally, during the deployment phase, you can send Igor to a new location. He can either support the robots in the junkyard (generating an additional majority), collect scrap, or assist you in the lab (lab dice can be re-rolled if you don't like the result).
In the cleanup phase, the empty spaces in the junkyard are finally filled with new cards, and you can rearrange two cards from your own laboratory to create entirely new combo possibilities.
A first conclusion
All in all, Dicey Devices was a truly fascinating game where we try to manipulate our dice to maximize their usefulness. Whoever plays their cards skillfully, sends enough robots to the scrapyard, and utilizes their lab most effectively can win. It's incredibly fun because the theme is so coherent. The art style of Dicey Devices also plays a big part. The whole presentation looks wonderfully wacky. The Loop achieved something similar, but Dicey Devices conveys the theme a touch better, in my opinion. Perhaps that's because here we essentially take on the role of the mad scientist, determined to destroy everything and everyone!
What makes Dicey Devices so interesting to me is that it's fun yet still quite tactical. Since all the information is out in the open, you have to observe your opponents very closely. "What can who do when?" is a question I often found myself asking. A small mistake can be punished severely, and can even serve as an opportunity for someone else to win the game. I unfortunately learned that the hard way. But that's precisely what makes this game so appealing. You can just jump right in and have fun, but if you think ahead and cleverly outmaneuver your competition at the right moment, then you can celebrate a resounding victory.
Kickstarter
If you are interested in Dicey Devices If you have any further information, you can find it at the Kickstarter campaignThis offer runs until November 21st. The base game is available for approximately €52. The game including the Clone Pack expansion costs around €60. The game with the Lunchbox expansion and a real lunchbox is around €77. The All-In version is €86.
Information about Dicey Devices
| Number of players: 1 – 4 Age: from 14 years Playing time: 45 - 90 minutes Difficulty: expert game Classification: Dice Manipulation, Engine Builder, Set Collection, Area Majority Author: Daniel Kim Illustrations: Adin Milo Publisher: Origami Whale Official Website: Link Link to the campaign: Kickstarter Campaign start: 28.10.2025 End of campaign: 21.11.2025 |
| Preview | Product | Rating | Price | |
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Feuerland Spiele 31012 Arche Nova, Ages 14+, Large* |
46,98 EUR |
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