Quarriors Dice Building Game
Publisher: WizKids/NECA Inc.
Release Date: August 2011
MSRP: $54.99
Number of Players: 2 to 4
Playing Time: Approx. 30 minutes
Format: Metal container; 130 dice; 53 cards plus accessories
Product #: WIZ70234
Age Rating: All ages
ICv2 Rating: 3 Stars out of 5

The game is simple enough that most kids will be able to play it, but the most difficult thing for younger players is the necessity to be very precise with the playing components.  Even the slightest accidental fiddling with dice in play can interfere with the game.  The game is well worth the price, with the large number of custom dice, nicely made.

This is a dice-based game which draws upon some of the same concepts as deck-building games.  You gradually build a pool of dice, from which you roll a limited number each turn.  These represent resources, combat creatures and spells.  Every player buys these extra dice from a limited selection [determined by cards], making each game somewhat different, as these selections are chosen randomly for each game.  In addition to the draw of the cards, the dice are drawn at random from a bag each turn, and the roll of those dice also randomizes the effects.  Thus, it is possible to see it as a luck game.  That is not entirely true.  Figuring out what to do with the resources those die rolls give you is the skill aspect.

Unfortunately, some of the monsters and spells are not well-balanced for the 4-player version, due to the scoring system.  If big creatures are in play without the countermeasure magic to destroy them, they almost always score their value.  The biggest creature can score as many as 6 points, more if the controller has magic to boost this amount. In a 4-player game, you are playing to 12 points, and a lucky player can score that much in a single turn, by turn five or six.  This can be rectified by house rules, adjusting the length of the game or setting a series of games with combined scores, but it is a flaw that players may quickly notice.  With two players, you play to 20 points, and it becomes more of a quick dueling game.  Either way it is intriguing, but the balance could be improved, and some may not like the extra layer of luck.

--Nick Smith: Librarian Technician, Community Services, for the Pasadena Public Library in California.