Published by Fly in Dream, this boxset includes two games in one. One is a light, push-your-luck dice game, while the other has you racing your opponent to the end of the board. So how do these two games play, exactly?

Dices 66

Gameplay

Players choose whether to play with the easy or the pro price board. This determines how many points you get for rolling sets.

On your turn, you roll all six dice. You can choose any number of these dice to set aside and then reroll the remaining dice one more time. The dice can roll one of five icons, plus wilds. You are trying to roll sets (a set is three or more for the easy price board, and four or more for the pro price board).

If playing with the easy price board, a wild can be part of two different sets, while the pro price board only allows it to be part of one set. You earn points for having more matching icons, and the sets that are more difficult to roll are worth more points than the ones that are more common to roll. If you earn 66 points for your roll, you roll again.

Players agree on either playing to a certain point value or taking a certain number of rolls each to determine the winner.

Review

Dices 66 is a simple little dice-rolling game, without complex rules, that makes it easy to learn and teach. You’re trying to make sets, and you have one reroll. There are some push-your-luck elements as you decide whether to go for the more high-scoring sets or settle for something that is easy to achieve. This does mean players who are losing have a chance to make a big play and pull out ahead. The rules even show clearly what each die can roll, so if you want to seriously lean into the odds and figure out your best options, the game makes it easy for you to do that.

The game can also be bought as a small pack of just the dice. This is a highly portable game, and since the length is so flexible, it makes it something that is easy to play at restaurants or even on a plane. You just need somewhere to be able to roll the dice.

While the game can also be played solo, some of the rules for this mode were a bit confusing. We understood trying to go for a high score after a set number of rolls, but the game also suggests as an alternative that you can ‘see how long you last starting at 50 points,’ without explaining how you would lose points.

If you’re looking for something very light, quick, and easy to teach, Dices 66 is a game that’s going to be easy to pull out with groups that don’t have a lot of gaming experience.

Photos in this article are provided by the publisher

Pathway 66

Gameplay

The board is set in the center of the table. It shows a long winding path of spaces. Each player places their two pawns at the beginning of the path. The goal is to be the first player to get both your pawns to the final space.

Each space shows at least one of five icons. Some show two or three. There are also a few shortcuts along the path that also show specific icons.

On your turn, you roll all six dice. These dice will roll the icons shown on the board, plus you can roll a wild that can act as any of the icons. You then spend the dice as you are able in order to move your pawns forward on the path by matching the dice with the icons on the next space one of your pawns has to move to. You can divide your dice between your pawns. If you are able to spend all your dice, you get to roll again. If you can spend a die, you must. In order to move a pawn onto a space that shows two or more icons, you must match all the icons at the same time.

Review

Pathway 66 is largely a roll-and-move game and that simplicity is probably not going to keep everyone invested throughout the entire playthrough. There are some interesting ideas here, and the component quality is top-notch, with a nice, large board, bright colors, and dice that are fun to roll, but the ideas don’t really get fleshed out enough.

The fact that you can split your dice between your two pawns and that if you use all your dice you get to take another turn, means you’re trying to figure out the best order in which to use those dice. And it does feel good when you successfully manage to spend all your dice or maneuver a pawn so that it can take one of the shortcuts. But we did wish there was a reroll ability, where you can set some dice aside and re-roll the rest so that you could feel like you had a bit more control over accomplishing those combo moves, or prioritizing those shortcuts or the spaces that are more difficult move through. As it was, sometimes you just had a bad roll and there was nothing you could do about it.

Overview

These two games in a box are both very light games. There’s a lot of luck in both of them, especially Pathway 66. They won’t appeal to everyone, but there are choices in both games, and the result can be a mellow, easy gaming experience that could fit well with a wider audience.

Pros: Components are quite well produced, it’s neat to have two games in one, Dices 66 is very portable and could even be played on an airplane

Cons: Pathway 66 is very luck-dependent, some confusion over the solo rules for Dices 66, the games may be a little too simple for some players

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