Marvel Dice Throne
Table Top TableTopTakes

TableTopTakes: Marvel Dice Throne

It’s been here for just over a week now and I’ve already played Marvel Dice Throne six times. That should probably answer your question if I like it or not. So instead of doing my normal dive into it, I will do a light one. I’m going to focus more on if you should be searching for this when it comes out in retail.

How to Play Marvel Dice Throne

Marvel Dice Throne is the same game as Dice Throne. So a head to head or king of the hill style battling game. In it you pit your hero against other heroes (or anti-hero with Loki) to see who will come out on top.

You do this primarily through a dice mechanic that is based off a Yahtzee. You roll dice and then re-roll up to two more times. Using the faces of the dice, either numbers or symbols, you then activate an ability to attack your opponent. Your opponent rolls a defense blocking some damage, dealing damage back, or getting tokens to activate other powers and abilities. First player to knock their opponent to zero health is the winner.

That might sound very simple and it is quite simple. But there is more going on than just rolling dice. You get combat points, your currency for the game, and cards. These cards can be a lot of different things. They can remove negative effects from you. They can upgrade abilities or give you new dice combinations to activate attacks off of. Or it can block attacks or manipulate dice. So if you plan it out well, you can possibly set-up a great turn.

What Doesn’t Work?

I don’t really have any issues with the game. I’m bummed that there are no plans for the Geek Bit upgrades, but also it’s a Marvel based game, so that would have to go through them. And I doubt that it’s worth it to do that or it might not even be possible. Otherwise I got no complaints.

I can see people complaining that it is lucky. Which it is to some level. You are rolling dice, but you end up with options to mitigate. You play cards to affect the dice, so that is the most direct way. But all the characters also can upgrade abilities. This means often that you add in new combinations you can roll. So there are ways around the dice.

Marvel Dice Throne Captain Marvel
Image Source: Roxley Games

What Works

Marvel Dice Throne is very good at bringing out the flavor of the characters. With Thor you manipulate Mjolnir for damage and abilities. For Loki you play out illusions. Scarlet Witch manipulates the opponents dice. And Doctor Strange launches spells. Each character is thematic in some way. I love that about Dice Throne in general how every character is different. Marvel Dice Throne keeps that going strong.

Who Is It For?

This is a game for people who like dice. They don’t hide the fact that dice are important when you name your game Marvel Dice Throne. But more than that, Marvel Dice Throne is going to be a game for people who like Marvel as well. It is a pretty casual game and that should make it more accessible to most gamers or even people who are just interested because of the theme.

Should You Get It?

This is a slightly different question than the last one. Mainly because I do think that Dice Throne is not a game for everyone. Let’s face it, even though I might rate a game or game system a 10, someone else might not like it so much.

If you think that Dice Throne, with the fantasy characters, is just fine. Marvel Dice Throne might not be for you. If you love Marvel though and you think Dice Throne is just fine, this one might be better for you. It still won’t make it a great game. Marvel Dice Throne is just another version of Dice Throne. But if you love Marvel that might move it up a bit for you and make it worth your while.

Marvel Dice Throne Final Thoughts

I love Dice Throne and I love Marvel. So Marvel Dice Throne was a no brainer for me to back. And I’ve played it six times already, like I said. I haven’t played all the characters yet, so I’m still ready to dive in more. Thus far I think that Scarlet Witch is my favorite. Doctor Strange is up there and I enjoy Black Widow a lot as well.

Thor, for me, feels a bit more standard in how he plays but I think throwing and retrieving Mjolnir could be a lot of fun if I figure out his character a bit more. And Miles Morales Spider-Man as well as Captain Marvel were cool as well. Captain Marvel is maybe my least favorite, but she can punch really hard at times.

My Grade: A+
Gamer Grade: C
Casual Grade: A

Send an Email
Message me on Twitter at @TheScando
Visit us on Facebook here
Support us on Patreon here

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.