Title:
Paradice: A Game of Give and Take
Description:
The first thing that people will notice about this game, is the pieces. Truly, this is a very beautiful game to look at, and this is part of the intention of the designer. The game is sold as art, and packed up in it’s see through pyramid shaped box, or even just set up, it is something to look at and admire.
The game consists of a nine-by-nine grid board, 28 pieces representing 4 types of trees, 4 pieces representing forest spirits, 4 pieces representing humans, 1 ’circumstance changer’, 1 round (!) 6 sided die, 1 mask, and four colourless pieces representing deactivated humans and forest spirits.
This is a 2 player game, in which the roles are divided in the Giver and the Taker. Very unusually, only the Giver has a chance to actually win the game! The roles are determined at first by a die role, and the person rolling the highest number becomes the Giver. The roles reverse whenever a 1 is rolled.
At each turn, the number roled on the die is used by both players. First, the ’Circumstance changer’ moves clockwise around the edge of the board, the same number of spaces as the die roll indicates. The nearest Human to the Circumstance changer will then get the mask, and becomes the only playing piece of the Taker.
The Taker starts the round, by moving it’s piece and taking trees of the board. It can also use it’s Masked Human to displace a forest spirit (they change places). If a Forest Spirit becomes disconnected from all it’s trees, it becomes deactivated and is replaced by a colourless figure. The nearest unmasked Human then also becomes deactivated.
The Giver will try to move Humans next to each other. The aim of the giver is to place all four humans together, so they form a small blue pyramid. On his turn, the Giver can:
1. Move a Human
2. Reconnect a Forest Spirit with it’s forest, thereby reactivating the spirit and the deactivated Human;
3. Give back a tree if he can move two humans together (’eye to eye’);
4. Take an extra turn if he has 3 Humans together, and if he has enough moves, move the Taker’s piece into the pyramid and win the game.
The Giver moves by either moving into empty squares, or by displacing trees or Forest Spirits. A move can also be changing the direction in which a Human is facing (turning it 90 degrees).
This is not a typical board game. The rule on winning sets it completely apart from other board games, and the design itself makes this more of a collector’s piece than a game that everybody might enjoy. It is also designed with a certain philosophy in mind, and that philosophy has only little to do with the more common board game philosophy: Having Fun.
Strategically, playing either role is an unthankful task, since whenever the roles change, all the progress you might have made can lead your opponent to victory. And vice versa, all the damage you have done will now cause you problems.
This game is designed to make people think.
The game consists of a nine-by-nine grid board, 28 pieces representing 4 types of trees, 4 pieces representing forest spirits, 4 pieces representing humans, 1 ’circumstance changer’, 1 round (!) 6 sided die, 1 mask, and four colourless pieces representing deactivated humans and forest spirits.
This is a 2 player game, in which the roles are divided in the Giver and the Taker. Very unusually, only the Giver has a chance to actually win the game! The roles are determined at first by a die role, and the person rolling the highest number becomes the Giver. The roles reverse whenever a 1 is rolled.
At each turn, the number roled on the die is used by both players. First, the ’Circumstance changer’ moves clockwise around the edge of the board, the same number of spaces as the die roll indicates. The nearest Human to the Circumstance changer will then get the mask, and becomes the only playing piece of the Taker.
The Taker starts the round, by moving it’s piece and taking trees of the board. It can also use it’s Masked Human to displace a forest spirit (they change places). If a Forest Spirit becomes disconnected from all it’s trees, it becomes deactivated and is replaced by a colourless figure. The nearest unmasked Human then also becomes deactivated.
The Giver will try to move Humans next to each other. The aim of the giver is to place all four humans together, so they form a small blue pyramid. On his turn, the Giver can:
1. Move a Human
2. Reconnect a Forest Spirit with it’s forest, thereby reactivating the spirit and the deactivated Human;
3. Give back a tree if he can move two humans together (’eye to eye’);
4. Take an extra turn if he has 3 Humans together, and if he has enough moves, move the Taker’s piece into the pyramid and win the game.
The Giver moves by either moving into empty squares, or by displacing trees or Forest Spirits. A move can also be changing the direction in which a Human is facing (turning it 90 degrees).
This is not a typical board game. The rule on winning sets it completely apart from other board games, and the design itself makes this more of a collector’s piece than a game that everybody might enjoy. It is also designed with a certain philosophy in mind, and that philosophy has only little to do with the more common board game philosophy: Having Fun.
Strategically, playing either role is an unthankful task, since whenever the roles change, all the progress you might have made can lead your opponent to victory. And vice versa, all the damage you have done will now cause you problems.
This game is designed to make people think.
Max Number of Players:
2
Publisher:
Admcadiam
Year Published:
2001
Date Added:
2025-11-06 09:26:23
Automatic Estimated Value:
~$15.29
Automatic Estimated Date:
2025-11-06
Date Added:
2025-11-06 09:26:23
