Dice Forge

Dice Forge is presented as a successor to Seasons, though I have not played the earlier game and cannot use it as a yardstick. On its own terms, this is a pleasant thing: quick, bright on the table, and unlikely to demand a small ceremony on a Tuesday after work.

The centre of it is dice crafting. You roll dice, then gradually replace their faces to shape the results you hope to see. At first there is a properly tactile pleasure in it; you take a face in hand, fit in another, and the dice begin to feel like your own little machines.

After a while, though, the trick becomes more bothersome than impressive. Ordinary d6s and a few tiles on a player board could have done much the same job for less money; nevertheless, the different setups keep repeated plays feeling varied, and the pace remains pleasingly quick.

The insert deserves a mention of its own: it makes setup and packing away noticeably easier, which matters rather a lot for a game likely to leave the shelf often. I have not tried the expansion, so I will not claim depth I have not seen. As it stands, Dice Forge is a quietly good family or holiday game, provided you accept that its dice are more stage dressing than miracle.