A little over 2 years ago, the world, social gatherings, and yes, table top gaming changed for the foreseeable future. A pandemic has that kind of impact. People were confined to their homes and limited in their gatherings. The rise of remote work began. I started solo gaming. If there is a silver-lining to the past few years it is that we have found unique ways to interact and remain social with one another. Technologies such as video conferencing helped us stay connected during the height of the pandemic. I guess it was only a matter of time before a publisher made a game, an analog experience, that took advantage of this digital technology. That game is Rolling Realms by Jamey Stegmaier and Stonemaier Games.

*A copy of Rolling Realms was provided to me by Stonemaier Games in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

Rolling Realms Overview

Originally a print and play, Rolling Realms is a roll and write game that can support an unlimited number of players. Stonemaier Games would eventually produce a boxed version of the game for 1-6 players. The game has players rolling a single pair of dice and sharing the same result between the group to fill out cards that score end game points. This is a basic description because it helps explain how easy this game is to play over a video conference. Just grab your cards (or print your sheets), get a pen and a set of dice, and you are ready to go. Only one person needs to have a pair of dice since people will be using the same outcome that the player rolls.

I have played both over video conference and in person. Both ways work really well but for this review I will be discussing the in person experience with the packaged game.

Setup

Set up in Rolling Realms is quick and easy. Each player gets a dry erase marker, 11 realm cards, a resource card ,and a score card. The 11 realm cards should be the same for each player and then the dice are set in the middle of the table for everyone to reach.

Rolling Realms Gameplay

Rolling Realms is played out over 3 rounds and each round consists of 9 dice rolls. Before beginning a round, choose a player to shuffle their cards and draw 3 out of the 11. Other players will then take the same 3 out of their deck so all players are playing the round with the same 3 cards in front of them.

In a round, a player will roll the pair of dice. The outcome of these 2 dice will then be used by all players to fill in their cards. You can only use 1 die per realm card and cannot use both dice in the same realm. Once both dice have been used on cards then the next player takes a turn rolling the dice and all players mark off the values of the dice to meet the rules and score points on the cards they are playing. Once 9 dice rolls have been performed, players score the round, a new set of 3 cards is drawn and the next round begins. The winner is the player with the most points after 3 rounds.

A Game About Games?

The cards are the core of the game and are pretty meta. First, they are all designed off of other Stonemaier Games products. You will see cards that represent Viticulture, Wingspan, Scythe, Pendulum, Charterstone, and other games from their library. Next, they are all unique and score differently based off of the realm they are from. Viticulture cards have you claiming grapes in one dice roll and using a combination of another dice roll to make wine and score points. Tapestry has you filing in a grid with polyominos based on the dice rolls, similar to your capital city in the real game. You don’t need to have played these other games to understand and play rolling realms. It is just a cool idea and a nice nod to fans of some of those other games.

Natural Resources

In addition to scoring points on the cards, you can also gain resources to aid in modifying dice, gaining a third die value and so on. These resources and powers are:

• Pumpkins – Change a die value by 1 or reuse a die in a realm that has already been played this roll.
• Hearts – Gain a third die of one of the rolled values
• Coins – Gain a third die of a rolled value if a 7 us rolled or use 1-6 coins to generate a third die of that value.

These resources can also be used in combination. So you could use hearts to get that third die then use pumpkins to change the third value by 1. It presents a nice bit of strategy that is accessible to everyone. When you couple these abilities with each card being unique and the randomness of dice rolls, no 2 games will ever play out the same.

Rolling Realms Impressions

Components

Typical of a Stonemaier game, production is good. When opening the box, I was not expecting much for a roll and write game based off a pair of dice. I should have known that they would put emphasis on the dice themselves. These things are huge and chunky. Cards are oversized, dry erase, with some subtle artwork in the background illustrating the game the realm represents. The markers. It sounds dumb and I am super nitpicking. It would have been a Stonemaier type touch to make them all different colors instead of black. Would have been nice to have the erasers on the cap instead of separate cloths also.

Experience

I am a sucker for roll and writes. This game is easy to teach, gets to the table quickly, and can be played with just about anyone. I really liked that each card was its own mini game and that you could progress through them over the course of a round however you see fit. There really is not any player interaction but I was not expecting that this from the game.

For us, it is a game that you sit down casually with a glass a wine and puzzle over for about 30 minutes while having a conversation. Our sessions of Rolling Realms would always consist of 2 or more games. Using resources to pull off a combo that claims all the points a card has to offer is super satisfying. My wife and I both have our favorite and not so favorite realms but enjoy playing all of them. It is also nice to know that there are already addition realms available from Stonemaier as well.

I can’t help but compare this game to another that I own and enjoy with the kids. Super Mega Lucky Box. There are a lot of similarities between these 2 games but Rolling Realms has more depth. It is like a gamer’s Super Mega Lucky Box. There is also a solo set of rules that play out like a mini golf course with challenges representing each hole. While not the subject of this review, that alone seems very interesting as they make unique use of the cards and introduce new rule changes to keep things fresh.

Final Verdict

This game is super solid. While nothing ground breaking is here, it is the combination and uniqueness of the cards that will keep this game fresh for us. A casual, relaxing, puzzle played with family and friends over a glass of wine or morning coffee is where this sits for us. Good value for what you get in the box, great value as a print and play.