Roll the dice, as many times as you like, and add the results together to create a huge attack number. Use that number (and a ridiculously large sword) to bash in the heads of random dungeon monsters.
Roll a one, though, and your turn is over. This cost-benefit system comes right out of a slot machine in Vegas and it’s got me hooked.
As the game editor here at Cult of Mac, I spend a lot of time with a controller or touch screen in my hand. Of all the fun games out this week on the iPhone and iPad, I’ve got to say, Tiny Dice Dungeon is the one I’ve spent the most time playing.
If I was forced, say, to choose my iOS Game of the Week (and I’m not), I’d pick this one.
The game loop here is simple. You drop into the game, tap on a quest, and head into a dungeon. You get (at first) a couple of dice you can roll. Enemies also get dice. Big bad-ass bosses get dice.
Anyone can roll the dice as many times as they want, racking up the high attack numbers. Then you hit that one. Bam — it’s turn over and you get hit with a ton of bricks, sometimes quite literally.
I love simple time wasters, but, like Tower of Fortune 2 before it, Tiny Dice Dungeon does what it does better than most. In fact, instead of a way to waste extra time you might have lying around, this game may, in fact, waste time you don’t actually, you know, have to waste.
Do you roll the dice just one more time to get your attack number higher than the boss monster hit points? Or do you stop short, avoiding a total waste of a turn that happens when you roll a one on any die? It’s a delicate balancing act, but totally compelling.
Better yet, some monsters come with a goal number which will let you capture them if you roll attack with it. If you hit them with the requisite dice total, you capture that monster and can add them to your party. Level the acquired monsters up along with your character, and head to the next dungeon. Brilliant!
I’d love to say more, but a) the game is free and b) I want to get back to playing it, so head over and download a copy right now and you’ll see what I’m saying.
Just don’t blame me when you get nothing done the rest of the day.
