Disclaimer: This review is from a reviewer’s copy of the game that was provided by Stronghold Games to Open Seat Gaming, but opinions are our own based on several plays of the game.

Game: Dizzle
Publisher: Schmidt Spiele, Stronghold Games
Design: Ralf zur Linde
Art: Anne Pätzke
Mechanisms: Roll and write
Number of Players: 1 – 4
Game Time: 30 minutes

Description: Dizzle is a roll and write (you roll dice and write down results) game that Stronghold Games has brought to the United States.

In a round of Dizzle, one player rolls the dice (solo = 8 dice; 2 players = 7 dice; 3 players = 10 dice; 4 players = 13 dice). Then, you’ll each take a turn taking a die – but you don’t write it down right away!

You place your first chosen die on your board, adjacent to a box that has been x’d off in a previous round. Then, every subsequent die that you choose has to be placed near that die. The only time you don’t have to follow this rule is when there are no more empty spaces around those dice – then you can “jump” to another part of the board with subsequent dice.

If you can draft and place a die within those rules, you must do so. If not, then you have the option to either 1) reroll or 2) pass. If you reroll and still cannot place a die, you must put a previously drafted die back into the pool. If only one person hasn’t passed, they get one more die to draft and then they’re done.

After everyone has passed or all the die are gone, you are then allowed to “x” out the spaces under those die. You get bonuses based on what is underneath, and then continue to the next round. There are 3 rounds for 4 players; 4 rounds for 3 players; 6 rounds for 2 players; and 10 rounds for solo.

Every Dizzle board has different little twists – locks that you can’t open until you “x” out the keys; bombs that give negative points to everyone except the first person(s) to “x” them out (multiple people can “x” the same one out in the same round), gems that give bonus points, and even poop emojis. There are 4 different boards with varying degrees of difficulty.

Review: Dizzle is a delightful little game! Roll and Writes have been taking the board gaming world by storm lately and, because of that, we’re starting Roll and Write Rumble as a new column here at OSG. Roll and Writes will also include “Flip and Fill” and other “randowriters” – it’s just easier to call them all by a well-known name.

The colors and shapes on each Dizzle board are very distinct. You can tell what they are supposed to be and there’s no mistaking what goes with what. That being said, I’m not 100% sure if it’s colorblind friendly – you can tell that they tried though. The shapes are all distinct from one another, but there were a few times that I had to double-take in order to ensure that I was counting the right things.

The choices in the game are definitely really fun to make. Where will you put your dice? Will you risk a re-roll or just say “forget it” when the dice come around to you? There’s no worse feeling than having a 50/50 chance of getting a number you want on a reroll and not rolling ANY of them. But at the same time, that’s the risk of the game, and that decision can be agonizing, at times. That tension is fabulous.

I really like the unique ways that you can score in the game, as well. Every single board is very different, and it’s a lot of fun to see just how high that you can score! I’m definitely better at some of the boards than others – and each of them tickles a different part of your brain. How cool is that?

The pens included in the game are fine – I’m not a big fan of mass-market markers, and when we laminate it, we’ll be using fancy markers anyway. The dice are cute little black dice that are easy to roll. I always prefer bigger dice (because I have chunky hands), but that’s a me problem, and not the dice issue.

I do wish the paper was thicker, but that’s a typical complaint from me in regards to roll and writes in general. Overall, the components are the weakest part of the game – but it’s a roll and write, and I appreciate that they worked to keep it under a certain price point (as roll and writes should be).

Try, Buy, Deny: If you’re on the roll and write wagon, then you definitely want to be sure that you buy Dizzle and add it to your collection. It’s quirky, it’s fun, and it’s a really neat little twist on what we’re used to seeing in the roll and write genre. If you aren’t on the bandwagon yet, I’d say try this one out – it’s that perfect combination of complex decisions upon an easy-to-learn engine.

Game On!
Marti