Rogue Review- 77 Ways to Play Tenzi

I came across this one recently and if you’re in the mood for a super complicated game that will last ALL day then don’t play this game. Tenzi is a very simple game that you can probably play without buying it if you’re really into dice collection. It’s a great “got a few minutes” game and excellent for a small group looking to kill a bit of time.

Gameplay- A

The idea of the game is to be the first to roll a set of ten dice all into the same number. That’s it. Straight forward. Simple instructions. Roll your dice, pick whichever number came up the most, keep rolling the rest until they are all that number. Do it quickly to beat your opponents.

If you want to do more than just play the base rules, there is a convenient box called “77 Ways to Play Tenzi” which has an extensive selection of alternative ways to play Tenzi. Each game option comes on a separate card, allowing you to randomly draw one to set up a game. These range from the silly to the difficult. Some require you to form the dice into a specific pattern using specific numbers, requiring another hurdle adding to the mix. Others just make the game more absurd, such as ones that require you to make an animal noise between each roll. Not all of them are as annoying as that one, focusing on coordination like switching hands with each roll.

The best part of the alternative cards is the names. Tenzi itself is a fun word, but when you go off the deep end to work it into the name of every alternative version, it gets amusing. Morezi Fourzi is one of my favorites. I haven’t read through all of them, there are 77 after all, but all have been some variation of fun but descriptive to pure cringe but in a good way.

Production- A

You don’t need to buy anything to play base Tenzi. The rules are simple and don’t require any components except ten dice per player. Many gamers have bunches of d6’s lying around. Though ten per player is a lot, especially if you’ve got a bunch of people wanting to play. It’s probably worth buying a Tenzi set just for the matching 40 dice. Then at least four can play, probably a few more with your box of home dice.

The “77 Ways” box is sturdy enough. The cards make picking a new version to try easy, as you can just shuffle and deal one. Much better than a book which would require flipping through it and likely missing many versions. You can also have each person play a different version by dealing each person a different card. This is especially handy when doing one of the pattern versions, as then everyone can see their personal design much easier.

Theme- N/A

There’s not a theme to this game. It’s just rolling dice.

Expansions- N/A

Buy more dice I guess?

Conclusion- B+

For a quick party game or time killing game, the 77 Ways adds a nice dimension to a straightforward game. Take a few minutes before an RPG while waiting for that one slacker who’s always fifteen minutes late and get your bad dice rolls out of the way.