Diceland: Space is a two-box, 50-die expansion to last year’s paper dice game Diceland: Deep White Sea. Produced by James Ernest Games (a division of Cheapass Games.) Diceland: Space adds many new dice, several new powers, and a couple of rule changes to an already impressive game.

For those unfamiliar with Diceland, I have a review of the first set here at RPG.net. If you do not feel like reading the earlier review, I will give a brief overview of the basic game before going on to the additions in Diceland: Space.

Diceland is a battle fought using eight-sided, paper dice. The die faces contain the attack value, defense value, and special effects of each combatant in the game. Each player holds an army of dice, usually about five. They take turns tossing one of their dice on to a table. Depending on the direction the die points, a die can shoot other dice, move by tipping one facing, or use a special effect if it has one. Each die has a point value, and the first person to kill 50 points worth of his opponent’s dice wins. Typically two players fight in each game, although multi-player rules reside on the Diceland website.

Diceland is a winner because it combines aspects of three different types of games into a unique mix. Fans of collectible card games will enjoy the variety of special effects on the dice and the ability to find “killer combos.” Miniature war gamers will find the importance of facing and distance simple but enjoyable. Those who enjoy dexterity games will enjoy chucking dice in an effort to knock other dice around on the table.

Two boxes comprise the Diceland: Space expansion; Terrans vs. Urluquai and Garthans vs. Muktians. The names come from the computer game called Strange Adventures in Infinite Space (also from Cheapass Games.) Each box contains 25 paper dice but you need only one box to play the Space version. Each die comes in two pieces you must fold and attach together. The paper is sturdy, glossy, and in full color. Each face of the dice features an illustration of a spaceship and all of the stats you need for the fight.

The rules sheet contains concise and clear instructions along with helpful illustrations. The Space expansion adds some new rules to the original set. Perhaps the most important is an addition to the throwing rules. In the old days, when a player threw a die on to the table, it could either shoot its weapon or activate its special effect. Now, the die has the option of moving as well. This small change has a great impact on the game. Players rarely wasted a turn moving a die in the original game. Dice that could improve their health or power by moving rarely did. With the new rule, players are much more likely to take advantage of their die’s movement capabilities.

What would a game expansion be without new powers? Diceland: Space adds several new special effects that follow the theme of space combat closely. Cloak allows the die to hide from many enemy weapons while Dodge allows a die to avoid most long-range attacks. Move and Shoot (as well as Shoot and Move) allows the die to perform two actions on a turn as opposed to one. Finally, a Shield will protect the die completely from low powered attacks.

The new set also has some new army building rules. If there was a serious fault in the original game, it was that there were not enough dice to customize armies satisfactorily. Now, there are more than enough dice to build original combinations. Before the game, each player gets 30 points to build their force. If you take ships from a single team, however, you get 30 + X points, where X is the value of your lowest ship. In most armies, this amounts to little more than an extra small fighter. Some armies that use very few ships, however, might manage to squeeze more points, as their lowest value ship might be 10 or 12 points. For those that shudder at the min/maxing terror this implies, keep in mind that if you use only high value dice, your opponent will score many points each time she kills one. The bigger they are, the harder they fall.

(In the original set, all dice were unique, which meant you could not have more than one of any die in your army. In Space, no dice are unique. Were you to buy multiple boxes, you could put together some very odd teams.)

Diceland: Space makes a great game even better by improving the flexibility and options before and during the game. New Diceland players may enjoy starting with the Deep White Sea set where constructing armies is not as important. Once hooked, however, players will enjoy the new options in the Space expansion.

--Brad Weier