It’s normal to have a little dice-rolling in a game. Putting them in the hero’s chair, not so much. Dice are normally the silent judge, deciding clutch victory from horrific failure on a whim. They’re what separate mission success from a pile of dead XCOM squaddies. Maybe it’s time to put those bones through the wringer themselves. See how they like it.

Dicey Dungeons is the latest project from a team of talent headed up by hexagon masochist Terry Cavanagh, reunited with musical bleep-bloop maestro Chipzel. It’s random, it’s tactical, and it’s out in three weeks.

Dicey Dungeons is a light and colourful little deck-building roguelike, a far cry from its creator’s past work. Picking from one of six cubic characters, you’ll be rolling the bones to slot into an ever-growing list of tactical options. Will you play it safe with the Warrior, pushing the odds ever in your favour? Or live on the edge of your seat, swapping out your loadout every turn with the engineer?

It’s a little bit Tharsis, if a little less cruel.



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Time was, you could get an early peek in alpha builds. Fortunately, there’s still a free low-fi web version over on Cavanagh’s site. You know, in case you want to try your odds before rolling the dice.

Listen: I’d normally steer clear from randomness like this. I’ll admit to throwing fits at my partner after losing card games. But whether it’s some manner of design trickery, or that I’m not just getting out-rolled by a human opponent, I’m having a good time with Dicey Dungeons. Helps that it’s a proper charmer to look at.

Dicey Dungeons tumbles onto Steam and Itch.io on August 13th.