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Welcome to Which Game First where we boldly explore the hilariously huge world of board games. Did we unearth any hidden treasures you’ve been missing out on? Let’s find out!
First up: It’s D6’s all around cuz that’s how we roll in … Gang of Dice
Next: We’re hopping all around the board to become the hare of the realm in … Bunny Kingdom
And lastly: We lay down tiles all day, all night, and every day in … 24/7: The Game
Gang of Dice
Designed by: Reiner Knizia
Published by: Mandoo Games (2022)
Players: 2 – 4
Ages: 8 & up
Playing time: 30 minutes
Gang of Dice is – of course – a dice game where the object is to collect all of your opponents dice! The dice are numbered 1 through 5, but the 6th side is called THE Gangster, which counts as zero.
Each round, players reveal a Warning card that displays a particular dice combination or threshold. For example, the card might read 7+, which means you can roll as many of your dice as you like, but WARNING, rolling a total score over 7 will trigger a bomb, and you automatically lose that round.
If you get a bad roll, you can reroll any of the dice up to three times. But once you’ve chosen the quantity of dice, you can’t add or subtract dice once they are rolled the first time.
How many dice do you roll? You choose, you can choose as many of your dice as you like. Obtain the highest result without triggering the combination indicated on the card. The player who rolls the highest result without bombing out wins the round and gains the dice rolled by all players.
A game lasts 12 rounds, so at the end of the game, the player with the most dice wins.
Bunny Kingdom
Designed by: Richard Garfield
Published by: IELLO (2017)
Players: 2 – 4
Ages: 12 & up
Playing time: 45 minutes
Bunny Kingdom is a card drafting and area control game where you lead your clan of rabbits to glory by gathering resources and building new cities across the kingdom!
The game is played on a 10 by 10 space grid and each space has a specific coordinate, similar to Battleship. Some of the cards you are drafting show the coordinates on where you will place your rabbits. Some coordinates yield resources, which help you achieve more carrot points (victory points). Try to connect your areas orthogonally to grow your warren in map size, it yields higher point values.
When you control certain areas, you can build new cities. Cities will multiply the value of that particular territory. So connecting more areas will mean a higher result when multiplying by the city’s level.
Settle in lakesides or fields to collect water and grow carrots, gather mushrooms in the green forest, and climb the highest mountains to discover rare and precious resources.
After each turn, your groups of contiguous warrens grant you points depending on the cities and different resources they include. The game ends after four rounds, and the player with the most points wins the game, and is crowned Regent of Hossenfeffer.
24/7: The Game
Designed by: Carey Grayson
Published by: Sunriver Games (2006)
Players: 2 – 4
Ages: 8 & up
Playing time: 20 minutes
24/7: The Game is a light abstract strategy game. Players take turns laying up to 6 tiles on a 7×7 grid and score points for adjacent tiles that create runs, sets, and sums of 24 or 7. Diagonals count, so you have to think outside of the orthogonal box. You score for combinations of tiles in up to four different directions.
Can you block your opponent from scoring? Oh yes, and you may need to play that way to keep the game close. Keep playing until the board fills up, or when no more legal tiles can be played. Highest score wins, and their prize is that they have to go work the night shift of a 24/7 convenience store.