Rally Roll is a new dice game from Blue Orange Games. If you like press-your-luck games, put this one in your pocket for a quick game anytime!
At a glance: Rally Roll is for 2 or more players, ages 6 and up, and takes a few minutes to play. (It can play any number of players, but of course if you have 50 players, it will take a bit longer…) It retails for $7.99 and is available now online and in stores—Blue Orange Games are found at many major retailers in addition to game stores. While the package says 6 and up, you can pretty much play with anyone who is old enough to roll dice.
Components
Pretty simple: 6 dice in a little mesh bag. There’s one large die that just has colors on it, and then five small dice that have the same color distribution and numbered faces. The dice are screenprinted but not etched, so I suppose with extended use you may eventually see some wear. Otherwise they’re fine.
The mesh bag is pocket-sized, and the small rulesheet folds up and fits in there, too, though once you learn the game you probably won’t need it.
How to Play
Gameplay is very simple—the goal is to be the first to get to 50 points.
On your turn, roll all the dice: you score the value for all of the small dice that match the big one. You can keep rolling as long as you’ve scored points, and once you decide to stop, you bank your points and add them to your previous score. However, if you ever roll the dice and none of the small dice match the big one, you bust and your turn ends, and you lose all the points you’ve accumulated this turn.
The color distribution of the dice is 1 green, 2 orange, and 3 grey, which are worth 3, 2, and 1 points respectively.
There are also bonuses if all the dice are the same color (including the big die): 10 points for grey, 20 points for orange, and instant win for green.
As soon as somebody reaches 50 or more points, they win!
The Verdict
Rally Roll is a really simple game, along the lines of Zombie Dice, but without a particular theme. That may be nice if you’ve got kids who don’t care for the zombies, but others may prefer something a little more flavorful.
The gameplay is a little different, though, and I like the way the scores are inversely related to the probabilities: you’re more likely to roll grey on multiple dice, but they’re only worth 1 point each. Rolling greens is great because they’re 3 points, but if you don’t roll greens on both the big die and the little ones, you may bust. It’s a fairly standard press-your-luck mechanic, where you get to keep rolling as long as you score something; unlike Zombie Dice, the probability of busting does not increase as you keep pressing your luck, so it’s just an increase in the number of points you stand to lose. The bonuses for rolling all one color are exciting if you hit one, but of course rolling all greens is fairly uncommon.
The game is quite simple, and (as you may imagine) mostly luck-based, but for a pocket game that I can break out just about anywhere, it’s fun to play with my kids, particularly because my toddler can play against her big sisters and have just as much fun. It won’t be the main event at a game night, but it’s one I could break out while waiting for a few people to arrive.
If you’re looking for a quick, portable dice game, check out Rally Roll!
Disclosure: I received a review copy of this game.
