Best Dice Games for Couples
Is “Netflix and chill” getting a little… stale? Literally, shake things up with these dice games handpicked for couples.
You can channel all your anger and spite in a head-to-head clash or rekindle your romance to work together against the board. Choose to save the world, build rivaling empires, or create beautiful art. Regardless of which of these top 10 games for couples you choose, you won’t be having another predictable date night any time soon!
🏆 Our Top Picks for Best Dice Games for Couples
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#1. Istanbul: The Dice Game
Players: 2-4
Playing Time: 20-40 minutes
Roll the dice and immerse yourself into the chaos of Istanbul’s lively bazaar with this game. Simpler than its original, the goal is to strategically roll the 5 customized dice to collect money, crystals, and resources to buy rubies.
Follow the action card to see what valuable treasures you can collect with the roll of your dice. Collecting rubies is the main objective, so keep your eye on the prize! Remember, as the game progresses, the rubies become more expensive. The game is played until someone collects 6 rubies (5 rubies when there are 4 players).
Complete the round and whoever has the most rubies at the end of the round wins! The game has a high level of replayability and luck will most certainly play the biggest role during your game.
#2. The Castles of Burgundy: The Dice Game
Players: 1–5
Playing Time: 15-30 minutes
Expand your wealth and empire in 15th century France. The goal of the game is simple — collect the most points and rewards by completing a group of hexes. Skillfully use the roll of the dice to your advantage to take over as much land as possible.
Each set of hexes has its own rules that govern how they can be filled. As you fill in full groups of hexes, you will receive bonuses that will help you out later in the game. Some of those bonuses you acquire can also help you manipulate the dice in your favor, putting you at an even further advantage.
Castles of Burgundy: The Dice Game can be completed in as little as 15 minutes, giving you plenty of opportunities to beat your partner with the best two out of three! Plus, this game is small enough that you could easily take it on a weekend getaway.
#3. Noctiluca
Players: 1-4
Playing Time: 30 minutes
Get your air tank and wetsuit ready for this next game because you’re diving into the depths of the enigmatic Cerulean Pools. Here, you’ll be looking for Noctiluca. These luminous creatures are famous for their healing abilities and people are relying on you to gather them.
The Noctiluca are represented by 104 colorful dice that you will be collecting and adding to your jar cards. Filled jars can be sent to the healers for point tokens, putting you on your way to victory. Keep an eye out for jar cards with bonus points that will make your victory even sweeter.
The game is speedy and you only have two rounds to fill as many jars as you can. The beautiful, vibrant colors of the game itself will leave you wanting to explore these waters even further in search of these luminescent creatures.
Noctiluca#4. Roll for the Galaxy
Payers: 2–5
Playing Time: 45 Minutes
Couples can go head-to-head in this fantasy sci-fi dice game where the aim is to best manage an intergalactic empire. The gameplay may look intimidating at first, but once you make your way through the game once, you won’t want to stop.
Your population is represented by the multi-colored dice. There are more than 111 of those so keep your wits about you! These workers can inhabit new worlds, transport valuable goods, and help the technological advances in your world flourish.
Roll for the Galaxy is won by the player whose empire can prosper thanks to well-managed workers and skillful gameplay. The battle of the sexes now turns into the battle of the galaxies!
#5. Sagrada
Players: 1-4
Playing Time: 30- 45 minutes
The Sagrada Familia Church began construction in 1882, and this still unfinished UNESCO World Heritage Site needs your artistic flair to be completed. Become a part of the world’s longest construction project by strategically crafting stained glass windows.
In Sagrada, artists will construct their stained glass according to which window pattern board they draw. It’s not that simple, though. Each pattern has restrictions that dictate where certain dice colors or numbers are allowed to be placed. These nitty-gritty rules will put each artisan’s skill and creativity to the test. But, rules are meant to be broken though, aren’t they?
Sometimes. Artists have tool cards that can be used by spending your favor tokens to help you break these rules. Spend your favor tokens to get tool cards that allow for some deceiving rule-breaking. At the end of the tenth round, it’s time to count scores and see which artist has the best stained glass! Judgment Day comes after 10 rounds.
Will you have the best stained glass or will your fellow artists laugh off your feeble attempt?
#6. Ganz Schön: That’s Pretty Clever
Players: 1-4
Playing Time: 30 minutes
Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the cleverest of them all?
This game will be the judge of that. Use the roll of your dice cleverly to fill in hexes that maximize points. Each of the dice you choose will be used to mark off colored areas of your game sheet. You’ll also be serving your opponents the dice you reject on a silver platter — literally.
The game’s box displays a silver platter in which you discard any dice that you don’t use during your turn. That’s right- they will choose from your sloppy seconds. Each colored area has requirements that need to be met in order for them to be completed on the board.
Strategy is key as you need to anticipate future rolls and know which hexes will be more challenging to fill in as the game progresses. So, will you end up with the cleverness crown at the end, or be served a dunce cap on a silver platter?
#7. Dice Throne: Seasons 1 & 2
Players: 2–6
Playing Time: 20-40 minutes
Dice Throne is an exhilarating, fast-paced card game in which you will need to roll your hero’s custom dice to strike on your enemies. By attacking your enemies, you unlock new capabilities and earn combat points. These can be used later to buy the power to manipulate dice, unlock bonuses or even supercharge your own hero’s abilities.
Win the game by collecting combat points and depleting your opponent’s health points.
There are many different seasons and versions of this game to keep things exciting. In Dice Throne: Seraph Vs. Vampire Lord, the gameplay follows the same rules, but you are presented with two new powerful characters. Seraph is pure and holy, and she is set out to destroy evil. If you stand in her way, you will be blinded by her glistening, crystalline beauty.
Vampire Lord, on the other hand, is no match for even the greatest of soldiers. She is bloodthirsty and shows no mercy to those who dare to battle her. If you’re not careful, you will perish under her darkness. With a quick playtime, couples can take turns playing devil and angel to find who will come out on top!
#8. Pandemic: The Cure
Players: 2-5
Playing Time: 30 minutes
Four deadly diseases are plaguing humanity! You and your team need to work quickly to stop the spread of these diseases and end this pandemic before it’s too late!
Race for the cure, but you’ll need luck on your side as the dice will determine which actions you can take, and even the characteristics of the diseases. Each player will have an important role to play from dispatcher to researcher to medic.
Different dice and capabilities are given to each person. You will need to work together to keep the hotspots contained and stop diseases from spreading from continent to continent, all while trying to heal the sick and conduct crucial research. If you cure all four diseases, you win the game!
If the disease spreads to too many people, everyone loses. Pandemic: The Cure is a wonderful game for date night because, unlike many other games, you need to work as a collective unit to win. Plus, with a playing time of only 30 minutes, this is a great game to replay and find new ways to end the pandemic and save the world!
You may also enjoy:
- Pandemic Review
- Best Pandemic Expansions
- Pandemic: On the Brink Review
- Pandemic Legacy: Season Two Review
#9. Dice Forge
Players: 2-4
Playing Time: 45 minutes
Is there a place for you amongst the gods? In this contest, only the winning mortal will be allowed to join them in their heavenly glory!
In Dice Forge, you must use effective decision-making skills to prove your divinity. The dice themselves are mystical with interchangeable faces, so choose wisely and place the new faces deliberately to make your dice a powerful weapon. Collect gold, victory points, moon shards, or sun shards to exchange for new dice faces or to perform a heroic quest.
After nine rounds, the player with the most glory points is the winner, and thereby — a god! Oh and don’t let your partner forget your new godly status.
#10. The Grand Austria Hotel
Players: 2-4
Playing Time: 60-120 minutes
If you’ve ever envied the lifestyle of a Hilton, now is your chance to become an affluent hotelier. In this game, you will build your hotel brand from the bottom up. To earn potential customers’ business, players will need to perform a variety of actions, such as serving food and drink or preparing rooms for them to move into.
Gain points and bonuses each time you satisfy a guest’s needs and they move from the cafe to a room. Utilize staff cards to collect bonus points and further get ahead of your competition. Keeping customers pleased is how you will grow your business and trump your rivals. With only 14 actions per game, you’ll need to be efficient to satisfy your clientele.
One of the best parts of this game is that you won’t use all 116 cards each round, so it is great to replay to get a completely different outcome.
Wrap-Up
We hope you enjoyed our list of the best dice games for couples! These board games are perfect for a dynamic duo or a competitive couple and are a great way to spend some quality time together for a cozy night in.
Have you tried any of the games on this list? Did we miss any of your favorite 2-player dice games? Drop a comment below! We’d love to hear from you.
Looking for more couples board games to play? Check out our video of the best couples board games below:
