Filed under: Gaming, Odds and ends, Freeware, iPhone
Dice games to go with all the iPhone dice apps
The App Store, so far, has seen a number of duplicate apps. One group of dupes we're seeing: dice rollers. Makes sense if you twist an old saw to say "if your input involves shaking, everything starts to look like an accelerometer." Or something. My personal favorite for randomness is MotionX Dice. It has polish and allows you to roll one to five six-sided dice at a time. I also happen to use Dice Bag (iTunes link), but that's because my nerd blood runs deep. Still, there are plenty to choose from.
So what to do with all those dice-rolling apps? On the next page I've got a roundup of games you can play with dice. Some involve a pencil and paper for score keeping or whatnot, but all use dice as the basis for the game mechanics. Next time you're stuck in the doctor's office, don't just give your kids DizzyBee, play a "real" game with them!
Some of these are classics and some are easy to learn. Others are a little trickier. Don't forget, you can always design your own game! Plus, I would bet there are dice-based magic tricks or tricks involving random numbers where you could use dice apps. It adds a little techie flair to a magic act. Here are some dice probability tables for those who need them.
- Dice 1000, requires 5 dice, pencil and paper. A basic rolling and scoring game.
- Liar's Dice, a classic game akin to poker in that you deal with odds and bluffing. Lots of fun with friends.
- Quarter pass with dice, or 4, 5, 6. Yes, you'll need some quarters.
- A drinking game, possibly not suited to anyone under 21 (in the US, but you could always use something like celery soda with kids): 7-11 doubles.
- Blisters (requires 6 dice).
- Good old Bunco, time-honored favorite of church groups and drunk married couples everywhere.
- The time-honored Pig, which is available commercially with little pig dice.
- Wikipedia on dice games (external links at the bottom go to a king's ransom in various dice games).
- Finally, six commercial dice games.
Enjoy playing "real" games with your iPhone and dice apps!
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Joseph Crawford said 2:45PM on 9-05-2008
I wonder when we will see one of these games actually an all in one so that you would not need paper and a pencil to keep score, the game would do all that :)
I'm sure it will not be too long.
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iBearTouch said 5:01PM on 9-05-2008
I was reading this article and got about halfway through when I failed my savings throw against extreme embarrassment. :-/
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Pepe said 5:30PM on 9-05-2008
When I read your suggestion to "he time-honored Pig" (see suggestions above) I thought I'd need to point out this super-silly game here:
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schweinerei_(Spiel)
http://www.amazon.de/Winning-Moves-5001-8-Schweinerei/dp/B0000A575W
Nothing to do with Macs, iPhones or really even dice but, hey, that's how it goes ;-)
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Joshua said 6:08PM on 9-05-2008
No love for MachDice?
It has 3D rolling animations and can roll up to 9 different dice at once.
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Scott said 10:15AM on 9-07-2008
So many dice rollers, and not one of them can I use for roleplaying games like Storyteller or Shadowrun (especially Shadowrun when I might have to roll 30+ 6-sided die and count the ones that only roll 5 or 6).
How can there be so many apps and all be completely useless for anything that does not involve Orcs in a 10' room guarding a chest...
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J Aaron Farr said 10:26AM on 9-07-2008
I'm using the DieRoller (http://iphonexe.com/apps/app.php?id=2435) app for my roleplaying needs. Works great.
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Scott said 10:22PM on 9-07-2008
You obviously do not play Storyteller or Shadowrun, because it has the same issues as the other ones.
I will not even get started on the joke that is iPhone ebook apps, I am still stunned over Apple's oversight on this one
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