Who Will Win the Snowman Dice Race?

The snowmen are ready for a race! Can you construct one and push it to the North Pole before your opponents?

Snowman Dice is a fast playing, real-time dice game with elements of dexterity. With dice rolling and flicking, you and your snowman are going to have to be quick to claim victory!

Gameplay

Place the North Pole token in the center of the table so that each player can reach it with their finger, and each player takes five dice. The game starts, and everyone rolls their dice simultaneously, as quickly as possible.

The goal is to construct a tower of three dice to form a snowman, beginning first by rolling a bottom snow piece on your die, then following with a middle and placing it on top of the bottom, and finally rolling a head. You can also roll a wild, which can be used as any of these three pieces. You then try to roll an arrow with your remaining two dice. Once you roll an arrow, you can put one finger at the bottom of your snowman stack and push it towards the North Pole token.

Players can also roll snowballs. When you roll a snowball, you can place it anywhere on the table, and flick it at an opponent's snowman. If any part of your snowman is ever toppled, either while constructing it or while pushing it towards the North Pole, you must rebuild it from the bottom up.

The round ends once a snowman reaches the North Pole. You earn one point if you used any wild dice and two points if there were no wilds used in the snowman. The first player to three points wins the game.

Review

Snowman Dice is a very simple game, with minimal rules and comes in a small and light package. It's very portable, which ties in nicely with its theme and makes it a good fit for holiday gatherings.

The real time racing element is fun, but the snowball mechanic adds that extra element of player interaction and satisfaction when you topple an opponent’s dice, keeping the game engaging. The rules are a little vague on some elements, such as how far back from the North Pole token are you supposed to start your snowman. These are not major issues, however, as they can be easily determined with a house rule, and the game isn’t meant to be taken super seriously.

Snowman Dice is a really good fit for families. Children are going to have no trouble grasping it and are likely to have a lot of fun, while there's still enough there for adults to enjoy.

If you are looking for something really light and fast, Snowman Dice is it. Well produced, with a cute little bag and fun custom dice, we were pleasantly surprised by it.

Pros: Good for families, cute packaging and components, very portable

Cons: Rulebook leaves a couple of points up to players

Disclosure: we received a complimentary review copy of this game.