Book Review: Dice Games Properly Explained by Reiner Knizia

Dice Games Properly Explained by Reiner Knizia

Reiner Knizia is a prolific board and card game designer. This book covers dice games, focusing strictly on six-sided dice games. This little book covers nearly 150 games, sorted into various categories. I was hoping to find some interesting games, especially for playing at restaurants to keep the kids occupied while waiting for food to be delivered.

The book begins with simple luck games, often focused on getting one particular number or a set of numbers. Players have no tactical or strategic control, other than throwing the dice. The games are surprisingly diverse and engaging. Knizia often describes them as German pub games where the loser has to buy the next round.

The second set of games involve dice and counters (chips or matches are Knizia's recommendation; we might use sugar packets if playing at a restaurant). The games have a bit more complexity but the same amount of luck. We are going to try our Hungry Jack, which uses two dice, six counters per player, and a small playing board.

Hungry Jack playing board

Players take turns rolling the dice. If the number is seven, the counter goes in Jack's stomach and out of the game. For any other number, the player either puts a counter on the number if it is uncovered or takes the counter off the covered number. Players are eliminated when they run out of counters. Last player standing wins.

The next chapter covers the theory of dice. Knizia reviews the probabilities of rolling various numbers. A single die has equal chances for each number. Two dice are more likely to come to a total of seven. A total of two or eleven is much rarer. He describes how to calculate probabilities and has some helpful charts to explain the math behind the possibilities. The chapter is fairly short and straightforward, making it easier reading than you'd think.

The rest of the book goes over more complex games, including betting games, progression games, jeopardy games, category games, and bluffing games. The betting games section includes the casino favorite Craps, going into detail about the various bets that can be made, how the odds are calculated, and how the house always makes money. It's convinced me not to play Craps unless I am doing so just for entertainment value (something Knizia encourages).

Progression games involve throwing certain combinations before the player can score with other dice. Jeopardy games force players to get better scores or sets than previous players--games of one-upsmanship. Category games are like Yahtzee, where players need to strategically decide what dice to re-roll and which sets to go for. Knizia describes an amazingly large variety of games here. Bluffing games include a lot of poker-style variants.

The book is more interesting than I thought it would be. The technical/mathematical stuff is straightforward and easy to understand. The games have a huge variety, so it's easy to find something that would be fun to play.

Highly recommended--this should go on your shelf next to your copy of According to Hoyle, the classic text on card games.