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How many dice is too many?

9 replies [Last post]
Sat, 02/06/2010 - 12:27
Redcap
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So I made a game that I have held onto for 2 years, and over the course of the 2 years I have perfected it as far as balance, and playability goes. The mechanics are sound, and there is no 1 winning strategy, and players always only win by a very narrow margin, which is ideal.

My only problem is it uses 4 dice per player, which seems like an awful lot when the game is designed for 2-6 players. So will this effect publishability, because I don't want to play with balancing all over again, but I want to get published eventually.

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Sat, 02/06/2010 - 13:49
#1
elberon
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too many dice

I think the big question is what is the maximum number of players rolling at the same time? If its only two I recon you could get away with 2 sets of dice + 2 for wear and tear. A lot will depend on the theme, speed of rolling etc, can you give a bit more about the game?

Chris

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Sat, 02/06/2010 - 14:22
#2
Redcap
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It is a type of bluffing game

It is a type of bluffing game in which players must all roll their 4 dice and then keep them hidden. So every player needs 4, meaning a maximum of 24 dice.

If I were to self publish this game, I think I would just package the game with 12 dice, and let the players just scrounge for extra dice if they wanted to play with more people. Thus keeping my costs lower; however, my orginal question was about if it would scare publishers away or not...

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Sat, 02/06/2010 - 16:01
#3
Brykovian
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Dice can be gotten cheaply

Dice can be gotten cheaply enough -- especially if they are standard dice and not needing something overly special/custom ... I wouldn't think that would be a bottleneck if the game is a good one.

-Matt

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Sat, 02/06/2010 - 16:43
#4
Jpwoo
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And gamers like dice. I am

And gamers like dice. I am guilty of picking up a beater copy of Axis and Allies just to scrounge the dice and poker chips out of it.

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Sun, 02/07/2010 - 01:56
#5
slam
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I sell two games which

I sell two games which consist solely of a board and many dice. 18 for Knockabout, and 27 for Warp 6. I've been selling them for years. Liar's Dice is a dice bluffing game like you've described, and that uses 30 or so custom dice. Many dice is not a obstacle. It's a niche.

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Sun, 02/07/2010 - 11:02
#6
InvisibleJon
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Thoughts on one of my dice games...

I've designed several dice games. The one I'm pushing hardest right now is RYB ( http://www.invisible-city.com/play/32/ryb ). Yeah, I think it needs a new name too. It's a game for two to five players, though it plays best with three or four. Each player needs two red, two yellow, and two blue six-sided dice per player. That's 30 dice for five players or 24 dice for four players. It also requires a deck of 39 cards (Yes, I know that's a funky number.) and a small board.

I've found 16mm d6es for as low as 9 cents per die (1,000 dice for $90), making ten four-player sets cost ($3.375 + $2.70 = $6.08, round up to $7.00 for rules, mini-board, packaging, etc.) $7.00 each to produce. Sell it for $19.95 + shipping, make just under $13 profit. That's not atrocious. If I can add in a good box that'll hold all the dice and keep the total price of production under $10, I'll still be happy.

Product sources:
1,000 dice for $90 ( http://dicepool.com/bulk-dice/cat_95.html )
$33.75 for ten 45-card decks ( http://www.guildofblades.com/podcards-pricing.php )

Wow. I think I may have just convinced myself to POD and sell RYB. That's pretty funny.

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Wed, 03/03/2010 - 03:40
#7
Sarge
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Small dice

How about using the smallest dice you can find, Looking around online, all I can seem to come up with is 12mm, but they have to be out there. Look at tide of iron and pirates (wow…yeah I know, way small)

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Wed, 03/03/2010 - 21:25
#8
Howitzer_120mm
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Cheaper dice

If you want 1,000s of dice, I suggest Koplow . I'm almost positive that Dice pool gets most of their dice from them, so you could cut straight to the manufacturer and get an even better deal.

http://www.koplowgames.com/

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Thu, 03/11/2010 - 15:37
#9
RanDomino
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too many dice is STILL NOT

too many dice is STILL NOT ENOUGH DICE

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