Alhambra dice game review

Cuphead: Fast Rolling Dice Game features a lite campaign that requires players to progress through eight bosses in chronological order.

As such, players will begin the fight against The Root Pack using the first boss deck. After successful completion of a boss, players are graded on their performance, from how much health each character has remaining to how many Wallop cards still remain in their hand.

The general flow of the game is completed in multiple phases and is relatively easy to pick up for new players. Each boss has a number of different phases that players will need to overcome, just like in Cuphead proper.

Boss phases use a small section of the greater boss deck, creating smaller decks that are used only during that specific phase and contain unique mechanics to add some flavor to the otherwise standard attack sequence. Once players are ready to start, three boss cards are flipped over and added to the boss board in the order they were revealed. Each boss card revealed during a given round features one or two icons that correspond to icons found on the Action Dice. The goal for the players is to roll their dice in quick succession and match the dice pictures to those icons in the allotted time frame.

Each icon matched means they successfully avoid the attack and any damage that would result from it. If players are feeling extra brave, they can assign an extra die to attack the boss, with the goal of whittling its health down to zero as quickly as possible.

While this sounds easy, it relies heavily on luck, and RNG plays a huge factor in the overall gameplay. This is really where it deviates from the source material as in the original Cuphead, you could practice and learn boss patterns to eventually get better. While Cuphead: Fast Rolling Dice Game is playable solo, it becomes slightly easier with each successive player added. Sure, the bosses feature more health to compensate for the added headcount, but the fact that every character uses the same set of dice means the odds are the same for everyone.

Plus, characters can be revived fairly easily after being knocked out, allowing for the fight to continue. Some of the bosses require near-perfect rolls at times, making it a much more difficult experience if you plan to play through the campaign by yourself. Each round of the boss phase continues until either every player or boss loses all of their health.

If the boss deck runs out of cards, the group must shuffle the current boss deck to create a new set of randomized attacks while also collecting a time token -- something that negatively affects the final grade upon completion. After each boss KO, players move to the next phase, until they eventually reach the final Knockout!

The main strategy in Cuphead: Fast Rolling Dice Game employs a similar risk-reward mechanic as something like Yahtzee, but on steroids.

One of my biggest complaints with this dice game variant, though, are the actual bosses themselves. In Cuphead, boss fights are big spectacles with gorgeous animation, unique mechanics, and always accompanied by a stellar soundtrack. Most of what makes Cuphead so special is missing here as boss mechanics are largely the same and boil down to minor variations on standard rules, or gimmicks like requiring your assigned dice to be stacked on top of one another in order to be counted.

If not, you may find it to be a fairly average dice game with some cool retro artwork on the cards. Cuphead: Dice Game. By Matthew Adler Updated: 21 Dec pm. Verdict Adapting a video game into a tabletop experience is a tall order, as you inevitably lose something along the way.

Was this article informative? YES NO. If you buy something through this post, IGN may get a share of the sale. For more, learn more. In This Article. After everyone has placed their tokens you give out the rewards. Bonus Tokens can be Immediate Victory Points or Special Power tiles, like being able to use an extra die which always shows the face of your choice, or being First Player.

These increase in the same way they do in normal Alhambra. But: When I play an Alhambra game I want to play something with the tiles and with the strategy of placing those tiles being very important. There are rules for how to set up the game to play with the tiles. You must be logged in to add a review. Log in Register. Skip to content. Search for: Games News Stores. Reviews 1 Game Tips Discussion. Publisher Overview. Delight at the new Alhambra game excitement. Alhambra: The Dice Game.

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