Space Cadets: Dice Duel cover
2013BGG rank #2,243

Space Cadets: Dice Duel

by Geoff Engelstein · Stronghold Games

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Players4–8
Time30m
ComplexityMedium-Light
Age12+

About the game

What is Space Cadets: Dice Duel?

Your plan is quickly coming together. Simplicity itself. Just continue to close the gap to the enemy, and launch when within range. Your crew is well-trained and work quickly at their stations, just the edge you need to come out on top. "Engineering, power to Helm. Move forward and close the distance to the enemy. Keep shields in the front. We're going straight in". You can feel the bridge vibrate slightly as the engines come up to speed. “Captain, all sensors are on weapon lock”, says the Sensor Officer. “You can fire at will.” A slight smirk crosses your face. “On my mark! Launch both tor... Wait, where did they go?” You look at the viewscreen, puzzled, with a growing sense of unease. Sensors starts shouting. “Crystal Warp! Captain they've done a crystal warp and they're directly behind us!” From your right comes the panicked voice of the Shields officer. “Umm, Captain... All of our shields are to the front! You start barking out orders. “Shields, use the crystal we captured to raise the aft shield. Weapons, start to move the torpedoes to the rear tubes! Helm, get us out of here!” The crew gets to work, but you look on in horror as two torpedoes lance out from your nemesis. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Space Cadets: Dice Duel – the "Team vs. Team, Real-time, Dice-Rolling Game of Starship Combat!" – pits two spaceships against one another in quick-paced combat. The players are divided into two teams, each team playing the crew of a ship and winning or losing together based on how well they perform. The game ends when one side destroys their opponent by causing four points of damage through torpedoes or mines. Each ship has six Bridge Stations: Engineering generates power for the other stations. Helm maneuvers the ship on the map. Weapons loads the torpedo tubes to attack the enemy. Sensors locks onto the enemy so torpedoes can hit, and uses jammers to stop the enemy from locking on. Shields helps protect the ship from enemy torpedoes. Tractor Beams can grab the powerful crystals, move the enemy ship on the map, and launch Mines. Each player is in charge of one or more of these stations, or has the overall role of Captain to coordinate everything. There are no game turns in Space Cadets: Dice Duel; instead the game continues with players acting as quickly as possible until one side wins.

How it plays

Mechanics

Action QueueDice RollingGrid MovementReal-TimeTeam-Based Game

On the shelf

Categories

DiceFightingParty GameReal-timeScience FictionSpace Exploration

Questions players ask

Questions to bring to BoardGameBrain

  • How do setup and the first turn work in Space Cadets: Dice Duel?
  • When does scoring happen and what ends the game?
  • How should the table resolve an unusual timing or rules interaction?