Booty Dice Review: It’s Not Just About My Dice Anymore

🏴‍☠️ Booty Dice by Eric Olsen | 🏢 Published by Messy Table Games in 2023

👥 2–6 players | ⏳ ~15 minutes | ⚙️ Push your luck, dice rolling, take that, pirate chaos

⚠️ Disclosure: I was gifted a copy of Booty Dice and translated the game’s rules into Spanish

As always, this is my honest review. We do not accept compensation for our opinions or recommendations

Who didn't grow up playing Yahtzee? I never really caught the Pirates of the Caribbean bug, but give me some dice and an excuse to yell "ARGH!" and apparently I'm willing to give piracy a chance. Booty Dice takes that familiar dice rolling feeling and adds something I really enjoy: interaction

With Yahtzee, I'm mostly watching my own dice and trying to build the best score I can. In Booty Dice, I'm watching everyone else's rolls too. What did they get?

Are they going to attack me? Did they just get enough treasure to become a problem? And, most importantly, can they please roll literally anything else?

How to Play

Everyone starts with 5 doubloons and 10 lives. On your turn, you roll six dice, with the option to reroll some or all of them up to three times. The dice let you collect doubloons, attack other pirates, steal treasure, defend yourself, and lose lives. Decide whether you want to push your luck. Resolve what you got. Then sit back and watch the next pirate make questionable decisions

How to Win

The first pirate to collect 25 doubloons wins, or you can win by being the last pirate standing.

If you eliminate another pirate, you also get all of their doubloons. So building up a pile of treasure is great until everyone else realizes you've become a walking pirate ATM

Pros

🎲 Easy to learn

🗺️ Language independent

⚔️ Lots of player interaction

👀 You're invested in other players' turns

🏴‍☠️ Fun theme without requiring you to be a pirate superfan

😂 Plenty of opportunities for table talk and bad luck celebrations

Considerations

🎲 Luck is definitely driving the ship

🏴‍☠️ If you hate pirate puns, well... ARGH

⚔️ Take that and player elimination won't be for everyone

Bottom Line

I'm on my fourth copy of Booty Dice. I like that it takes the familiar dice rolling and adds interaction. You're not just watching your own score. You're invested in what everyone else rolls and hoping they don't roll something that lets them come after you. It's a simple game that works really well for kids, newer gamers, or anyone looking for a light dice game that yields loads of puns

Want to Try It Online?

Booty Dice is available on Board Game Arena, so you can try before you buy

Recommendations

One of my favorite things about reviewing games is figuring out where they fit. So if you've played Booty Dice, or you're looking for something with a similar vibe, here are a few I'd put in the same conversation, depending on what you're looking for:

• 🎲 Another simple dice game: Qwixx

  • Roll and write where you play in every roll. Cross off numbers from left to right. Lock two rows or take four penalties and the game ends. Player with most points, wins

• 🎰 Eric Olsen's newest dice game: Tally Up

  • Play at the same time. One player rolls while everyone starts IN, and you have to decide when to go OUT. Go out before the roll is busted. First to 2,500 points win

• 🏴‍☠️ More pirates?: Skull King

  • Trick taking game where you bid on how many tricks you'll win each round. Get your bid exactly right to score, but don't be greedy. After 10 rounds, highest score wins