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FAST Dice Trivia Game

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chris_mancini
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Trivia Dice.JPG

I'm curious to know the community's impressions of a simple dice game I'm currently shopping around...the goal was to design an all-dice trivia game, where it's not just about WHAT you know, but how FAST you know it!

The game is for 2-8 players and scaled very nicely given its "party" kind of gameplay.

The game is super simple...roll the d12 Category Die, followed by the 6 d6 Letter Dice.

Players race to name something befitting the category, for instance Film could be a movie title, an actor or a film character. Grab the dice as you name them, until all dice have been grabbed. If a player disagrees with an answer, they ca shout "REROLL" and point to the offending player, who then re-rolls the dice they incorrectly grabbed back into play. This may be made easier by the presence of a judge player, who oversees the round, leaving players to focus on the game. Highest scorer plays the judge on the next round...

Score 1 point for every dice you grabbed, then return all dice and start over again. Play to a total of 10 points, with roll-offs between tied players.

The 12 categories are:
Film, TV, Music, Video Games, Literature, Science, Geography, Sports, Animals, Food, History and Tech.

The Letter Dice have been optimized to feature the more common letters, no Q,X,Z or other tougher letters.

I'd really appreciate any thoughts you might have...I wanted to design a fast, fun and simple "pocket" dice game with a unique twist, that puts player's brains to the test, and can be busted out anywhere for some quick fun.

Also...what would you name such a game?? All I have so far is "Rollcabulary" and it just doesn't feel right. "Speed Roll Trivia?" "Trivia Roll?"

Thanks all!!!

chris_mancini
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Panda GM quote underway

I'm also receiving a quote from Panda Manufacturing for a possible Kickstarter...this sort of game (small, simple, fast, fun and familiar) feels like the perfect first-go at a KS campaign, compared to bigger/deeper games where designer cred plays such a big role.

Again any and all thoughts are greatly appreciated!

ilSilvano
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Similar to Category Game...

Hi,
this is a nice basic idea, but please note this is somehow similar to a classic Italian boardgame called "Category Game":
https://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/13094/category-game
(which is of course based on a public domain game we call "Nomi, Cose e Città").

Please note that Category introduces a *lot* of (sometimes very specific) category cards, and this is IMHO what lacks in your idea; with only 12 categories, I am afraid games will become very repetitive after a while, when I start building my own mental lists (movies: "Alien, Borat, Casablanca...").

My two cents.

chris_mancini
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Joined: 05/01/2015
Good game!

Thanks ilSilvano for the feedback...I was not aware of that game and it certainly helps! True dedicated gamers may study the dice and memorize answers for every category, but I think the "average" person may get caught up in the speed of the game and find enough challenge in it. What you've identified is a way to "solve" the game, which may be good or bad depending on who you play with.

I think this may do well with another layer, and your input definitely helps! A literal translation of the game "Nomi" may be to have the category dice be the d6s, and the letter die the d12 (actually, a d20). Same name-and-grab gameplay, but with many more categories to play with.

I'll mock that up and see how it plays...thanks again for the great feedback!

JewellGames
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I had a similar game idea but

I had a similar game idea but was only for 2-6 players. I have been looking for another designer to help refine it. Originally I had it as a simultaneously answer and grab game but people's hands got smashed and it was too close to scattegories style card games.

The game came with 5 "timer" d6s, 25 category d6s, and 1 letter d20.

On your turn, you grabbed 3 category dice and rolled them along with the letter die. As soon as you rolled the dice you tried to come up with answers that matched the letter to the categories you rolled. At the same time, the player to your left is furiously rerolling the timer dice. When all 5 dice display the timer symbol, your time is up!

Different categories had different values. You scored the value on the die face for each category you answered + 1 bonus point for each timer die that didn't roll a timer symbol if you answered all 3 categories.

Scored dice were kept by that player.

The game ended when all category dice had been scored. Games with less players started with less dice (I.e two player game had 13 dice, three 16, four 19, five 22, six 25)

chris_mancini
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Joined: 05/01/2015
Cool mechanic

Very interesting mechanic with the timer dice...I think it could possibly serve the timer player in some additional ways; perhaps they can choose between scoring dice for themselves or using them to stop the players. Give the roller decisions in addition to timing the other players...I'll have to think about it. I'd really like to keep this pocket-sized at fewer than 10 dice,too. I like the appeal of a game you can easily take anywhere and pull out at social gatherings...

No quote from Panda yet for the current 7-dice iteration, but I know dice aren't cheap...especially top quality!

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