Dicenstein Kickstarter

Hey everyone, I'd like to talk a bit about this new game on Kickstarter that really caught my eye, called Dicenstein by Sandy Petersen Games.

So, what sort of game is this? Well, you might have guessed it has DICE. Lots and lots of dice! And the good part is, after a cancelled first Kickstarter for this game where the dice had printed sides, Petersen Games have listened to the concerns of backers about the quality of the dice, and decided to reboot the KS with etched dice! And for a dice game, with over a hundred dice, you want them to be as good as they can get. A few examples:

The theme is obviously horror. The players are mad scientists that want to create a monster that's better than the other scientists' monsters. In order to do that, they send their minion Igor into the graveyard to dig up monster bodyparts, which are all dice. Back in the lab, the players can use those dice to build their monster.

Each monster has a head, body, hands and feet, and all have different stats. Each monster also has its own specific abilities, so combining parts from different monsters gives you added bonusses. After a few rounds of digging, Igor will leave you, and you'll have to use your newly assembled monster to go out and dig up parts for you, while also fighting other monsters. You get points for defeating other monsters, and also for collecting as many monster parts from a certain type that are on cards you draw at the start of the game. These cards will be revealed at the end after one player has acquired at least 20 victory points, and then the points scored with the cards are added. Which means there's no knowing who will win untill the very end, which keeps the excitement there for the whole game.

From the Kickstarter page:

Dicenstein contains huge colorful etched 18mm dice with high-quality engraving so you can easily read the symbols. The mapboard is sturdy cardboard, and folds up nicely. Each monster consists of exactly 9 dice, a monster token, a Secret Army monster card, and an oversize Monster card featuring its characteristics so you can easily thumb through them and see what each monster is like. Dicenstein also comes with 9 custom battle dice.

Here's what's in the box so far. As stretch goals are reached, the contents may grow!

That's TWELVE monster types in the base game times 9 dice each, plus the 9 battle dice to do combat with, totals to 117 dice. And Kickstarter backers also get the exclusive Mr. Shiny monster, a proto-Shoggoth wrapped in a human skin, that's another 9 dice (126 total!). And there are even more monsters to unlock with stretch goals!

Here's a downloadable copy of the rulebook.

So, how does it play? Well, just have a look at the Kickstarter page. There's a video of the rules and a playthrough by the designers of the game, Tom McGinty and Chris Fernandez, on the Horror Show.


The game is $50,- which I think is a good price for a game that has so many dice in it, and it's also EU-friendly! So if you like lighter dice games, some strategy, a lot of fun and horror, then backing this game is a no-brainer (pun intended).


Links:
Dicenstein on the Petersen Games website
Dicenstein Kickstarter - back this game!
Dicenstein BoardGameGeek page - Join the discussion forums!
Dicenstein interview with the designers Tom & Chris on Super Board Bros.