Die in the Dungeon

Die in the Dungeon is a roguelike deck-building game about a frog going through a dungeon full of bugs to eat. Taking turns with the enemy, you’ll place dice with different abilities on a diamond-shaped board and try to get out of each chamber without depleting your health. The game twists the deck-building genre by having you manage dice instead of cards.

Play starts with you rolling dice, which you’ll have to slot strategically on a diamond board to deal actions. Different types of dice have their own colors. Attack dice are red, defence dice are blue, healing dice are green, and dice that boost dice around them are purple. Specific dice may also have special properties: heavy dice, for example, stay on the board for a few turns, while glass dice can only be used once per battle.

Energy points keep track of the number of dice you can play in the turn. You may take a look at your draw pile, which holds dice that aren’t in play; you also get a preview of the colors and sequence of dice your enemies will use on their turn. Once you hit the “finish” button, your actions will play out. Since you can only target one enemy each turn, extra attack points will be wasted.

Next up, your enemies will get a chance to strike back. All of the frog’s enemies are, of course, bugs trying to defend themselves from being turned into a snack. Many bugs have unique abilities or may allow you to perform special moves. Some insects block where you can place dice, while others have weak points that can be exploited if dice are arranged in a certain formation. After your enemies’ turn it goes back to you—unless you’ve defeated all of the bugs, or the bugs have defeated you.

The only way to heal is through healing dice or victory boons. At the end of each battle, you’ll be offered a boon that may provide upgrades, health, or opportunities to gain or purge dice. Occasional text boxes give a bit of narration and a choice between boons—or downgrades if you’re unlucky. Though some luck is involved, you’ll have to arrange your dice precisely and create a system to vanquish every insect.

This description was written by Cay Macres.