Dice Squared
A downloadable game for Windows and macOS
A solo game that requires nothing more than a few dice. The rules are simple enough to memorize, and short enough to fit on a business card.
Roll 3 action dice to manipulate the dice in your 3x3 square, using the actions on the card. Get 1 point for each row, column, or diagonal that has:
- the same colour
- the same number
- an ordered sequence
After 4 rounds, count up your score. A score of 6 or more is considered to be a win.
Play online
My friend and co-designer for In Dreams, Jamie Thul, made a PICO-8 version of Dice Squared! You can play it online, or download for Windows or Mac below.
Solo requires:
9 dice in 3 different colours, plus 4 additional dice. No other components required.
2-player requires:
14 dice in 3 different colours, plus 5 additional dice. No other components required.
Special thanks
This game came to be after Laszlo Korossy posited in the Button Shy Discord, "Are there any games that are ONLY dice, and no other components...?"
Also huge thanks to Jamie Thul for making the PICO-8 port of the game!
If you're looking for a game that's a bit more involved that uses the same core mechanic, check out Elementalist, my dice-based roguelike.
Updated | 20 days ago |
Status | Released |
Category | Physical game |
Rating | Rated 5.0 out of 5 stars (3 total ratings) |
Author | weheartgames |
Download
Click download now to get access to the following files:
Development log
- Dice Squared, digital edition!21 days ago
- Dice Square 1.0.3 - fixed pnp errorSep 14, 2021
Comments
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Would you mind elaborating on the Dice Squared rule for doubles?
"Doubles are wild: you may merge them into any one action above."
The rules for Elementalist give more information:
"You must perform 2 actions every round — if you merge doubles, you must perform the action shown on the third action die."
If Dice Squared follows Elementalist in this case, I suppose a roll of:
⚁⚁⚃ (2,2,4) would allow me to choose
⚁⚁ (2,2) [short diagonal] then [short diagonal], or
⚁⚃ (2,4) [short diagonal] then [short straight], or
⚃⚁ (4,2) [short straight] then [short diagonal], or
[⚁⚁]⚃ (wild,4) [any of the six actions] then [short straight], or
⚃[⚁⚁] (4, wild) [short straight] then [any of the six actions].
Your assessment is correct. Merged doubles count as a single die, so at that point you only have two dice to choose from instead of three. And you must take two actions each turn.
Thank you, nice little dice game! Fyi, I discovered your game through https://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/218614/solo-pnp-games-i-have-played?itemid=9620266#9620266
Oh nice, thanks for letting me know, I'd have never seen it!
Thanks! I'm so glad you like it! :)
You are right on both counts! I've clarified both points in the rules, and posted v.1.0.4. Thank you for the feedback! Glad you're continuing to enjoy the game; I'd love to hear how the 2-player mode goes for you. :)
Incidentally, I can remember one other dice-only game: Flip by Cheapass Games
v1.0.2: The "Solo-only rules" section of Page 2 is a repeat of Page 1. Should it instead be the Actions table?
Oh no! I've fixed it and uploaded v1.0.3. Thanks for letting me know!