These Dice Are Driving Me Crazy! – A Guest Blog

As stated in the Dice Hate Me charter, bad dice karma isn’t just a clever name, it’s a way of life around these parts. It seems that wherever Dice Hate Me appears at conventions or gaming events, there are gamers who immediately identify with the sentiment set forth by the brand, and then there are a select few who laugh, but brush aside the mention of such foolishness. Well, I hate to say it to those latter folk, but – I told you so. Case in point, the following brilliant post about dice-rolling statistics by FrontRangeGamer from Front Range Gamers. Lest you think that this guy is just blowing about some hot air, he dabbles... Read More

The State of Games, Episode 15 – The One About Richard Launius

This time, it’s all about the dice. It can be argued that it’s always about the dice around these parts, but this time we mean it. You see, we have a very special guest on the podcast this week – a certain designer whose happy hallmarks are those rambunctious randomizers.  And although dice may be filled with hate whenever they get in these hands, we’ve got nothing but love for this particular designer – even if he does have cube fever. Read More  Read More

Army of Dorkness: A Castle Dash Review

When Phil Kilcrease, founder of start-up game publishers 5th Street Games, first approached me about reviewing the relatively unassuming Castle Dash, I was a little hesitant. It’s not that I wasn’t interested, but I already had a long list of titles waiting patiently on my game table, all shiny and huge. However, it soon became apparent that the game was going to jump to the front of that list when Monkey238 saw the adorable cartoon soldiers adorning the cards and told me, in no uncertain terms, that we needed that game, and needed it now. Like a loving husband, I complied. At first glance, my initial hesitation seemed founded. The game came... Read More

Expanding Space – An Alien Frontiers: Factions Preview

When I first interviewed David MacKenzie of Clever Mojo Games back in July of last year, I wasn’t quite sure what to make of the Alien Frontiers and Kickstarter phenomenons. I knew that I was fascinated with how a small company could create such a big buzz in such a short time, and so down the rabbit hole I plummeted. After playing and loving Alien Frontiers, naming it the Dice Hate Me Game of the Year for 2010, and getting to know David, his brother Fred, and the amazing things that Clever Mojo Games has been up to in the past year, I can safely say that it has been a great trip… and it’s far from over. Clever Mojo –... Read More

The State of Games, Episode 13 – The One About GenCon and the WBC

Phew. Gaming can sometimes be hard. Like when there are tons of cool conventions going on all summer long and you just can’t seem to get to all of them. Lucky for us, we have clones. That’s right, clones. Right now, there are hundreds of little Monkey238s running amok, possibly in your neighborhood. It’s true! Don’t be alarmed, though – they’re mostly harmless. Just have some Doritos and ice cream at the ready. You may need it. Read More  Read More

Guest Impressions: GenCon 2011

Although we weren’t able to make it to GenCon this year, we were lucky enough that a friend of Dice Hate Me was there – Marc Specter. Marc attended GenCon on Saturday and was kind enough to volunteer his impressions of the big show. We’d like to thank Marc for running the gauntlet for us! Also, look for a special episode of The State of Games on Thursday when Patrick Nickell will share his experiences (including interviews with some industry giants) and Monkey238 and I will share our thoughts and experiences at the World Boardgaming Championships in Lancaster, PA! Running the gauntlet of aisle 800 As the grandaddy of all gaming... Read More

The State of Games, Episode 11 – The One About the Last Game On Earth

The State of Games, Episode 11 is fully stocked with bottled water, shotgun shells and plenty of spam and beans. There’s no apocalypse that we can’t handle as long as we can also bring along dice, cards, several hundred board games… wait, there’s not room for all of that? What’s a couple of well-prepared gamers to do? Read More  Read More

For Your Future Amusement

Yowza, yowza, step right up, watch yer step! Dice Hate Me has an important announcement to make! Granted, the cat’s been out of the bag for over a week now, but I figured we could use a little something official on the site just for matter of record. For those who haven’t heard, Dice Hate Me is going beyond just playing games – we’re now in the business of designing, producing and publishing games. The first game to come out of our stables is Carnival, a set-collecting card game that integrates dice in a unique and fun way. Carnival was conceived by Monkey238 in a little over an hour – yes, an hour – and I recognized... Read More

The State of Games, Episode 10 – The One About Origins

The State of Games, Episode 10 is geared up and ready for gaming – convention style! I’ll bet all you board gamers and grognards know what we’re talking about with the title of this one, and it ain’t about Darwin (although he was a clue in a game of Time’s Up this past week). So grab your dice bag and jump on board, because it’s convention time! Read More  Read More

Origins Game Fair 2011: Day 1

Just like a game of Lords of Vegas, the day started out slowly, but drew to a lively finish. After missing an exit and turning our 7+ hour drive into an 8+ hour drive, my buddy Shawn and I arrived at our hotel, grabbed our gear and headed over to the big show. After some registration hiccups, we ambled over to the open gaming area, threw open the door… and saw that it was pretty darn dead at 3:30. So we walked across the street to Barley’s Brewing, had a beer and some brats, and looked over the encyclopedia-thick booklet of events for the next four days. We soon decided that those days would be decidedly less dead. The Origins Boardroom... Read More