Dice Throne: Season Two introduces new content by bringing eight new heroes to the Dice Throne universe. All of these powerful additions are compatible with the combatants from Season One, which means that the fast-paced dice game has double in size. It’s truly a fight of epic proportions now.

If you’re unfamiliar with the popular board game from Nate Chatellier and Manny Trembley, Dice Throne is a game of dice, cards, and luck. It features wildly unique heroes with remarkable abilities. These fighters face off in the ultimate test of power.

The new roster expands the possibilities and Dice Throne: Season Two improves upon the first season in several ways.

STORY

For a thousand years, the Mad King has sat atop his high throne seeking a worthy challenger. Each year, he hosts a tournament of champions with the greatest prize a hero could ever want: The Throne.

Over a thousand tournaments, the Mad King has never lost. Heroes come from all corners of the globe, each with their own reasons for seeking supreme power.

Will you be the one bold enough to take the throne?

The story hasn’t changed. And the tournaments continue. With more heroes entering the fray, the fight is more dangerous than ever. But that’s okay because it means more Dice Throne.

GAMEPLAY

If you missed the GameTyrant review of Dice Throne: Season One, you can read it here. It provides a good overview of the game, and it discusses the mechanics of the dice-rolling adventure.

Dice Throne: Season Two builds on the foundation of the original game. It introduces eight new playable heroes. And accompanying the new roster are other changes.

Some heroes have companions. The Artificer can build three different bots to assist him in combat. The Huntress bonds with a tiger that can help shield her from damage or enhance her offensive capabilities.

The potential in team games improves dramatically. Players in 2v2 or 3v3 skirmishes have a larger pool of heroes to command, which increases the number of compositions and leads to interesting matchups.

Let’s take a closer look at the heroes. I’ve ordered them by complexity.

The Gunslinger is an excellent character to start with. Her Bounty and Knockdown effects make her a worrisome opponent, and her Evasive and Reload skills guarantee that she’s hard-hitting but hard to hit.

The Samurai is a martial character bent on dealing damage, whether on attack or defense. The Shame, Honor, and Backstrike makes him a swordmaster that will be able to strike other heroes at any time. He’s a straightforward fighter that doesn’t require a lot of careful planning.

The Seraph is a holy terror to any standing in here way, and she’s a divine blessing as a teammate. Her Holy Presence bonus can deal damage over time while her abilities are well-balanced. She can launch undefendable attacks or evade with Flight, remove negative status effects with Cleanse, and even bring herself or a teammate back from the brink.

It’s all about the blood with the Vampire Lord. Using Blood Power to heal herself or hurt her opponents is part of the strategy and she requires more finesse than the Gunslinger or Samurai. Players need to leverage her status effects at the right times in order to boost her health or ravage an opponent’s.

One of the heroes with a companion, The Huntress relies on a strong bond with the tiger Nyra to withstand damage and to enhance her own offensive maneuvers. Understanding The Huntress comes with knowing how to integrate Nyra into your fighting style. When Nyra is active, she’s incredibly useful. When she’s downed, The Huntress is weaker for it. Learn to navigate the bond.

Cursed doubloons, powder kegs, and parlay. The Cursed Pirate is not to be trifled with. A unique fighter with a dual-sided player mat, the loss of cursed doubloons will result in the human pirate transforming into the cursed pirate. And once the curse removes her humanity, the pirate will slowly start to wither away. It’s a battle against time as The Cursed Pirate.

A master on the battlefield, The Tactician is a military commander with a solid offensive output and a heavy reliance on status effects. It’s all about the tactical advantage, and how to protect himself while inflicting negative statuses on the enemy. Constrict and Targeted harass and hurt the opponent, and The Tactician must also keep that pressure up in order to suppress the enemy.

The Artificer might be my favorite hero in Dice Throne: Season Two. He’s a maniacal roboticist with three companions that can aid him in battle—Nanobot, Shock Bot, and Heal Bot. These trusty robots can help turn the tide of a battle by increasing damage output and healing The Artificer. Synth is the currency that the player must regulate, and the judicious use of that resource will determine how effective the hero is at dismantling his opponents.

All eight of the heroes represent a fantastic addition to the series, and the game still plays quickly and smoothly. The rules are relatively unchanged from the first season. There are small clarifications or adjustments that have occurred since the initial release of Dice Throne: Season One, but the core gameplay remains the same. If you haven’t read the original review, the rules are available online as a PDF document.

VISUALS

The quality of the game and its components are outstanding in the second season of this game. The Battle Chest box holds eight separate containers, organized into sleeves, with the image and name of the hero on the side for easy access.

Each hero’s container holds their custom dice set, individual tokens, card deck, health and combat point dials, reference sheet, and play mat. Everything has its own space, which is all secured underneath the reference sheet and play mat. It’s organizational nirvana.

All of the components are high-quality, and the designers did a wonderful job of making this game easy to get in and out of the box. It’s designed for easy play. And it’s designed for frequent play. The fact that the game is good enough to justify both of those intentions makes it all the better.

One of the best combinations of distinctive visual style and impeccable box design that I’ve seen.

REPLAYABILITY

Combining these eight heroes with the original eight from Season One, Dice Throne: Season Two is guaranteeing that players will be able to play this game for a long time. Play with new heroes every game. Or discover your favorites and test them against all the opposition. Play 1v1. Or 2v2. Or 3v3. Play with your spouses. Play with your kids. Play with your friends. Hell, play with strangers.

Dice Throne is an accessible game that will make you look forward to gaming. Game Night might happen a lot more with games as addictive as this.

WHAT IT COULD HAVE DONE BETTER

When considered as an addition to and improvement upon Dice Throne: Season One, it’s a high-achieving game that does everything right.

Even just as a standalone game, it’s a wonderfully engaging game with a near-perfect design.

I really don’t have any criticism.

VERDICT

Dice Throne: Season Two is an absolute gem. It does it all. And it makes Season One all the more enjoyable. I highly recommend this game, and I can’t wait for more from Nate Chatellier, Manny Trembley, and Roxley.