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DiceBots Megafun (Boardgame)

DiceBots Megafun (Boardgame)

Written by Bryony Stibbons on 22 Aug 2018


Distributor Wizkids • Price £24.99


Players: 2-4

Game Length: 20-45 mins depending on number of players.

Theme

For the purpose of this game, you take a trip to the future, where robots have been designed to battle for out entertainment – imagine Robot Wars but with the Pacific Rim characters! Your job is to build the best possible robots in order to defeat the opposing players.

Set Up

This is a very simple game to set up:

  • Push out the Victory Tokens.
  • Give each player a robot sheet, energy token and six ‘parts dice’.
  • Shuffle the weapons cards, deal six to each player and leave the rest to one side for future rounds.

Game Play

There are two phases to each round of the game:

Phase 1 – Scavenge Phase:

  • Each person looks at their cards and when ready pick up their ‘parts dice’.
  • Once all players are ready, all of them role their dice into the centre.
  • Players must now scramble to select, pick up and place onto their robot sheet the dice that they want (they can pick from all, not just those they rolled). You are aiming to get the dice that match the parts needed to play the cards in your hand (each card has a parts symbol at the top). However, you are only able pick up and place one dice at a time and so the chances of you getting all the ones you want without them being nabbed by an opponent first (if indeed what you want has been rolled in the first place) is unlikely, so you will end up with some un-wanted parts.
  • Your dice must be placed on the five body spaces on your robot and then your sixth dice on the head space. This is because the head-space die has an additional effect that is detailed at the bottom of your robot sheet.

Phase 2 – Combat Phase:

It is now time to do battle with your opponents!

  • Start the round with your energy token on the number six.
  • Then all players select one weapon card to play and all are revealed together.
  • Each person must then pay the required cost, in die from their robot sheet, to power their weapon. If the cost can’t be paid, the weapon is set aside.
  • Remaining weapons cards are then checked to see whether they have been successful, which of its opponents it hits and how much damage they do. This is determined by the information on the cards – Speed value (the highest speed value weapon is the one that succeeds and does damage), Target Image (which shows whether you hit all opponents, the one of your choice or the player to your left or right) and Damage Value (which determines how many energy points are lost from any player hit by the weapon).
  • Some weapon cards also contain an effect at the bottom that can be used to gain an advantage if the card is activated.
  • Throughout the combat phase player can choose at any time to use the special ability relating to their dice in the head position to try and gain an advantage.

Combat rounds continue until either players runs out of cards or their energy level reaches zero and they are knocked out of the round. If only one robot survives the round, that player is awarded a victory token. If more than one player are left in, then these remaining players go through the scavenge and combat phases again until one is victorious.

All playerds are then back in the game for the next round and play continues until one player has gained three Victory Points and is declared the winner.

The Verdict

My first thoughts on this game were formed before I even opened the box due to it’s title – adding the word ‘MegaFun’ into the title is surely a desperate attempt to promote it and gives it a lot to live up to – I think DiceBots Battle would have served it better!

Although the game is made for two to four players, I found the three and four player game much better. The two player game is over a lot more quickly and has less variation because your attacks are always centred on the other person.

The pieces are good quality and the instructions well laid out and easy to follow. The instructions contain an additional set of rules to advance the game, which can be added in once you have the hang of the battle. This makes for a slightly more complex and interesting game.

Overall I was not hugely impressed with this game. I found it a bit too simple and luck dependent to hold my interest and draw me back in for more games. However I mainly put my dislike down to the fact that this isn’t a game made for 35-year-old women! The game box says that it’s for age 14years+ but before I noticed that, I was thinking how much my 10-year-old nephew would absolutely love it. He can play much more complicated games so I would say this game is perfect for 10years+, with a little support from an adult learning the rules. I can’t recommend this for adults, but would definitly recommend it for kids!

5
This would be a hit with the kids!

Bryony Stibbons
About Bryony Stibbons

A life-long board game addict, but anime newbie, Bryony is gradually getting hooked!


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