Learn to Throw! (hints from designer James Ernest)

Diceland has great strategic elements, but it's also got a degree of physical skill. Don't ignore this aspect of the game! A little practice (and I do mean a little) can mean the difference between winning and losing at this game.

Take some to learn to accurately throw your dice. Not to land on particular sides, which is pretty tough, but to hit other dice in play.

There are really two reasons to hit dice in play. The first is to harm your opponent's dice, knocking them off powerful sides and onto weaker ones. The second is to heal your own dice, knocking them off bad sides or out of bad positions. A particularly good shooter can accomplish both objectives with a single throw.

You will also want to be able to land a die on any part of the table with a good deal of accuracy. In the middle of a game, there will always be good positions and bad positions to land. You may want to throw into your opponent's blind spot, you may want to land between two enemies, or you may want to land where one die is protecting another from being shot.

I use two kinds of shot, called the Power Shot and the Lob.

The Power Shot is an overhand throw, essentially a straight shot aimed at the target die. You want to hit the target die low, not high. If you hit too high you may glance off, and possibly even go off the table. Hitting low grounds your die and also knocks the target to a new side. On a particularly small table, it helps if you can give your Power Shot a little back-spin, but this is pretty tricky.

The Lob is thrown from very low, lower than the table edge (remember that you must release the die at leas a foot back from the table). This shot is easier to add back-spin to, and back-spin is essential if you want a die to stay put where it lands. I use this shot primarily for landing in an exact spot on the table, though I also sometimes use it for target shooting.

Experiment and practice with your dice at home, and soon you'll be able to hit anything you want to hit. And if you figure out a way to always roll the same side, let me know!

Going First

Supporting Characters

Predictability and Jumping