Firefly Shiny Dice Game

Firefly: Shiny Dice is a dice game (I could not resist) for 2-5 players that takes place in three rounds. A typical game for our group took less than 30 minutes. The dice are divided into crew dice (ten of these) and foe dice (five of these). Each round a player draws a mission card that affects play and scoring that round.Players attempt to defeat “foe” dice by playing combinations of “crew” dice and using special powers. At the end of each round, the player chooses whether to attempt to defeat the next batch of foe dice using his/her remaining crew dice. Too conservative of play will leave potential points on the table, but if you fail then you lose all accumulated points for that turn.After three rounds, the highest score wins.On to the Dr. Games’ criteria …GO/NO GO Criterion• Complexity: (GO) Shiny Dice is a relatively simple game, and the game comes with a series of nice play aids including play mats with spaces for the various dice and decisions, a player screen, and enough rules summary for each player. Between all of these resources, it is easy to figure out what each dice and combination does. The challenge is in determining what to play and whether to press your luck at the end of a round.• Balanced: (GO) The game is entirely balanced.• Chance: (GO) The dice are rolled for each player’s turn, and each player starts with the same set of dice. That said, there are some choices about which dice to re-roll, when to use a special power versus holding a die to potentially get a series or set that triggers another effect, etc..• Clarity: (GO) Shiny Dice is easy to understand, and the play aids ensure that players understand the effects of the dice and combinations on game play..• Reasonable Time: (GO) You can finish each game in less than 30 minutes.Bonus Criterion• Social: Each player is on his/her own for play. There are no particular mechanics to encourage (or discourage) social play.• Unique/interesting Mechanics: The idea of potentially either using special powers or trying to get combinations of dice is an interesting mechanic. Also, the decision to continue or save your accumulated earnings is a nice touch.• Inform: The game uses characters and language from the Firefly TV series and the Serendipity movie.• Rewards Throughout: You are able to score points throughout play.Firefly: Shiny Dice is a fun walk down memory lane for the Firefly fans, and it is a good, “solid” game even for the non-Firefly fan.

After my first try, I would have rated this 2.5 stars. I felt really disappointed about it. But since it's very quick (especially as a solo game), I tried again...and it clicked! This is a game with some imperfections (mostly from the publisher side), but these imperfections do not require any additional material to correct, just a tad of patience until you get the flow of the game down. As it is now, I am very much enjoying this one, and it IS a true push your luck game. Almost every turn I have to decide to roll again or bank my points.My suggestion:Your first 2-3 games, just leave the mission cards out completely. If you decide to start using them, draw your mission card BEFORE deciding to re-roll any dice with Wash/River. This was suggested by the designer, who did not even have mission cards in his design (that was added in by Upper Deck). Also, remember that Niska only KO's one die no matter how many Niska are rolled. That is crucial! However, Saffron does lock one die in the cargo hold per Saffron die. And Badger is kind of a pushover, as he just locks a supply die until you defeat him. Finally, remember that mission cards do NOT use up die icons, they are just completed if you have those icons, and you are not forced to complete a mission even if you have the icons available. Finally, note that ANY crew dice (brown or white) can be used to do 1 damage to a foe if you don't use it for anything else, except supplies of course. Supplies always are just supplies The rules incorrectly state "passenger dice," but it's all crew dice that can do the 1 damage.I've played 7 solo games now and am rating purely based on how addicted I am becoming to this as a solo game. It's so much more fun than I (and many others) initially thought. Shame on Upper Deck for a few seemingly minor rules decision/oversights (which I noted above). They really did affect many people's opinions falsely. But otherwise this is a fun, even addictive, game, and a must play if you love Firefly and are looking for a quick solo game to play. And the components (dice, rubber mats, cards) really are awesome!

I enjoy "practicing" this game in between playing with my husband. We are fans of the show and first tried it out at a gaming convention. I would love some more "what if" scenarios in the rule book, because occasionally a situation will come up that we will have to just figure out what the ruling would have to be, but I seem to find that on a lot of games. The game can be pretty complicated, which means it won't get too boring, but it is possible to play it pretty simply and incorporate more details as you get better at it.The symbols representing the characters are clear, and the game is small and portable. I suspect you would have to be a fan of the show to really want to play this game!

It's going to take a couple to a few playthroughs to get this game down, but once you do, it's possible you'll become completely addicted. This game is especially fun with a group of 3-4 players as it doesn't take long for each person's turn and a whole game can be done in about 20 minutes unless someone gets extremely lucky with their mission card draws. The instructions aren't very well written and can be slightly confusing, especially the first time through, that's where patience comes in, because you'll absolutely figure it out in 1-2 more playthroughs. If you love Firefly and the accompanying movie Serenity, then you'll appreciate this game for the feel of being on Serenity as you "push your luck" to be the best crew in the 'verse.

I like how you could just sit back and play this game on your own. Choose to fly or fly low. The show was a wonderful series to watch and a good complementary movie. But this game allows you to enjoy the different mechanics of the different bosses. I’m glad I found it. And it was a great deal for 10 bucks.