Roll and Match Dice in Strike, An Elegantly Simple Dice Game

Roll a die and make a match, fail to do so and you can choose to roll another. Be the last player with any dice left in order to win the game.

Published by Ravensburger, Strike was originally published in 2012 and has been out of print for some time. The game may be simple, but it’s still surprisingly engaging.

Gameplay

The box bottom is set in the middle of the table. One die is rolled into it. Each player then takes a certain number of dice, depending on player count. The goal of the game is to be the last person left with any dice.

On your turn you take a die and roll it into the box. You are allowed to choose how you wish to roll the die; with force, attentively, etc. There are no rules about how you must roll it. If a die misses the box though, or bounces out, then it is removed from the game. When rolling, your die might knock other dice that are already in the box, changing their results.

After you roll, any dice in the box showing an X are removed from the game. After this, you check if any dice in the box show matching numbers. If yes, you take any matching dice and add them to your dice pool and your turn is over. If there are no matches you must decide whether to end your turn or push your luck by throwing in another of your dice. If you ever run out of dice, you are out of the game.

Once your turn ends from making at least one match or from choosing to stop rolling, gameplay moves onto the next player.

If, at the start of your turn, there are no dice in the box, you must go all in and roll all your dice into it, following the same rules for results as on a regular turn.

Review

Strike is a game that is heavily about the luck of the roll, and some choice of when to push your luck and keep rolling dice on your turn hoping to make a match. You can also aim your rolls in an attempt to knock other dice, but this can be risky and you just might force a die to roll an X this way rather than anything helpful.

It is the simplicity that makes Strike such an enjoyable game. You may just be chucking dice, but it is surprisingly satisfying, and turns are quite fast. It feels great when you get lucky and it can be very interesting to decide when you should keep rolling and when you’ve already risked too much. The more dice in the box when you end your turn, the more likely your opponent will be to make a match, so you want to consider that, as well, when choosing to push your luck.

The components are well made. The dice are very satisfying to throw and the design of the box is really good. The sides are slanted with levels so that the dice will often roll around the side. There is also a foam insert to place in the bottom which keeps the rolling from being unpleasantly loud.

There is player elimination in the game, but it’s such a fast game that it doesn’t feel painful. Strike is also such an easy game to set up (all you need to do is count out the dice for each player) that it’s the perfect game to play several rounds of in a row. The rulebook even suggests a tournament mode in which you earn points based on how many people are still in the game when you are eliminated, and the goal is to have the fewest points at the end of a set number of games. It’s a very simple game, super accessible for all ages, and a really good time.

Pros: Simple yet engaging, fast set up, well made

Cons: Player elimination

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