The best modern dice games - alternatives to Poker & the like 🎲 2026

In this list we have picked out the best modern dice games 🎲 for you. We like the classic dice games like Yahtzee, Backgammon, Can't Stop or Lügen Mäxchen some of which have been around for hundreds of years. But the creativity of game developers has blossomed enormously in recent years - and in the process, some great alternative dice games have emerged that bring entirely new elements to the dice game genre.

We have selected the best for modern dice games for you - you can be curious!

Looking for a special dice game?

If you have precise ideas about the features of the dice game you are looking for, we have created the following extra dice game lists for you:

List of the best modern dice games 2026 🎲

Attached is our list of the best alternatives to classic dice games that you can buy 2026:

This list was last updated on June 6, 2026. There's also a print version for this list .
  1. The Castles of Burgundy: Special Edition

    The Castles of Burgundy: Special Edition revitalizes Stefan Feld's classic strategy game for 1-4 players, where participants embody aristocrats managing their princedoms. This special edition, a collaboration between Ravensburger and Awaken Realms, elevates the game with a full art redesign, premium materials, and enhanced components, offering a luxurious playing experience as players build their settlements, castles, and engage in trade.

    Nominated for 4 awards and won 1.

    More details for The Castles of Burgundy: Special Edition
    • 👥 1 - 4 Players
    • ⏱️ 70 - 120 Minutes
    • 🧒 12+ years old
    • 🧩 Medium difficulty
  2. Sky Team - Prepare for Landing

    Players take on the roles of a pilot and a co-pilot in a cooperative game for two. The objective is to work together to land your airplane at various airports around the world. Successful landing requires silently coordinating dice placement in your cockpit to balance the aircraft, control speed, deploy flaps, and even brew coffee to enhance focus. Each airport presents unique challenges, so stay alert for turbulence—it could be a bumpy ride!

    Nominated for 14 awards and won 9.

    ⭐️ Spiel des Jahres 2024

    More details for Sky Team - Prepare for Landing
    • 👥 2 Players
    • ⏱️ 20 Minutes
    • 🧒 10+ years old
    • 🧩 Easy to learn
  3. Tumblin' Dice

    Tumblin' Dice is a dexterity dice game where players score by sliding dice onto a multi-tiered board with scoring zones.

    More details for Tumblin' Dice
    • 👥 1 - 6 Players
    • ⏱️ 20 - 45 Minutes
    • 🧒 7+ years old
    • 🧩 Immediately playable
  4. Looking for a really good game where you can throw dice 🎲? Then we have just the thing for you: The list with the best games where you roll the dice 2026.

    The best games with dice rolling 🎲 →
  5. Las Vegas

    Las Vegas is a lively, dice-based game that combines luck, strategy, and the joy of thwarting your opponents. Developed by Stefan Brück at alea, it's designed to be an easy and interactive game, full of schadenfreude moments.

    Nominated for 8 awards and won 2.

    ⭐️ Nominated for Spiel des Jahres 2012

    More details for Las Vegas
    • 👥 2 - 5 Players
    • ⏱️ 30 Minutes
    • 🧒 8+ years old
    • 🧩 Immediately playable
  6. Outfoxed!

    Outfoxed! invites you into a whimsical detective chase after Mrs. Plumpert's missing prized pot pie. It's a cooperative game where players work together to gather clues, eliminate suspects, and catch the cunning fox before it escapes. The game introduces a unique evidence scanner mechanism that adds a fun twist to deducing the thief among a lineup of potential foxes.

    Nominated for 3 awards and won 2.

    More details for Outfoxed!
    • 👥 2 - 4 Players
    • ⏱️ 20 Minutes
    • 🧒 5+ years old
    • 🧩 Immediately playable
  7. King of Tokyo: Dark Edition

    King of Tokyo: Dark Edition is a limited collector's edition of the popular game King of Tokyo. Set in an alternative, darker version of Tokyo, this edition brings a new level of intensity to the battle for control of the city.

    More details for King of Tokyo: Dark Edition
    • 👥 2 - 6 Players
    • ⏱️ 30 Minutes
    • 🧒 8+ years old
    • 🧩 Easy to learn
  8. Thunder Road: Vendetta

    Nominated for 8 awards and won 3.

    More details for Thunder Road: Vendetta
    • 👥 2 - 4 Players
    • ⏱️ 45 - 75 Minutes
    • 🧒 10+ years old
    • 🧩 Easy to learn
  9. Strike

    Strike is a thrilling dice game that combines luck, skill, and a bit of daring. Players toss dice into an arena (the game box itself, cleverly designed to keep the action contained) with the aim of matching dice numbers to keep playing and ultimately be the last one standing with dice in hand.

    Nominated for 2 awards.

    ⭐️ Nominated for Kinderspiel des Jahres 2012

    More details for Strike
    • 👥 2 - 5 Players
    • ⏱️ 15 Minutes
    • 🧒 8+ years old
    • 🧩 Immediately playable

    Video reviews for Strike

    • YouTube Review for the game "Strike" by BoardGameGeek
      Video
  10. That's Pretty Clever! dice game

    That's Pretty Clever is a strategic dice game where players must make thoughtful choices to optimize their score. The game's title, Ganz schön clever in German, aptly describes the need for cleverness and tactical thinking.

    Nominated for 8 awards and won 1.

    ⭐️ Nominated for Kennerspiel des Jahres 2018

    More details for That's Pretty Clever! dice game
    • 👥 1 - 4 Players
    • ⏱️ 30 Minutes
    • 🧒 8+ years old
    • 🧩 Easy to learn
  11. Spots

    Players roll dice and place them on dog cards during their turn. Dice that cannot be placed are buried in their garden. If too many dice are buried, the player goes bankrupt. Completing 6 dogs wins the game!

    Nominated for 4 awards and won 2.

    💰 23% cheaper on Amazon than at other retailers

    More details for Spots
    • 👥 1 - 4 Players
    • ⏱️ 25 - 30 Minutes
    • 🧒 10+ years old
    • 🧩 Immediately playable
  12. Looking for a really good game with paper and pencil note taking? Then we have just the right thing for you: The list of the best paper-and-pencil games 2026.

    Best games with paper and pencil note taking →
  13. Qwixx

    Qwixx is a fast-paced and engaging dice game that involves all players actively, regardless of whose turn it is. It combines simple mechanics with a need for strategic decision-making, making it a fun and interactive game for all involved.

    Nominated for 10 awards and won 3.

    ⭐️ Nominated for Kinderspiel des Jahres 2013

    ⭐️ Nominated for Spiel des Jahres 2013

    More details for Qwixx
    • 👥 2 - 5 Players
    • ⏱️ 15 Minutes
    • 🧒 8+ years old
    • 🧩 Immediately playable
  14. Las Vegas Royale

    Las Vegas Royale blends the original Las Vegas dice game with elements from its 2014 expansion. Players use colored dice to place bets on six casino mats, aiming to win money based on their rolls. Additional expansion stones add complexity and special abilities, enhancing the strategy as players compete for the best financial outcomes.

    Nominated for 1 award.

    More details for Las Vegas Royale
    • 👥 2 - 5 Players
    • ⏱️ 45 - 60 Minutes
    • 🧒 8+ years old
    • 🧩 Immediately playable

    Video reviews for Las Vegas Royale

    • YouTube Review for the game "Las Vegas Royale" by BoardGameGeek
      Video
  15. Lands of Galzyr

    Lands of Galzyr is an adventure game set in an open and persistent world where players' actions have consequences in both current and future sessions. Players take on the roles of cunning adventurers, navigating the lands, completing quests, and striving for fame and prestige. Each game continues from where the last left off, thanks to a clever save and load mechanism, allowing for seamless play even with different players in between sessions.

    Nominated for 1 award.

    More details for Lands of Galzyr
    • 👥 1 - 4 Players
    • ⏱️ 60 - 150 Minutes
    • 🧒 14+ years old
    • 🧩 Easy to learn
  16. King of Tokyo: Monster Box

    All the King of Tokyo fun comes in a Monster Box. The battle for dominance in Tokyo has never been more intense, packed with excitement and adrenaline! It includes the essential Power Up! and Halloween expansions, evolution cards to enhance your monsters, and even a new version of Gigazaur with exclusive cards and a new dice tray for stylishly wreaking havoc in Tokyo.

    More details for King of Tokyo: Monster Box
    • 👥 2 - 6 Players
    • ⏱️ 30 Minutes
    • 🧒 8+ years old
    • 🧩 Immediately playable
  17. Deep Sea Adventure

    Deep Sea Adventure is a light and engaging board game that combines elements of press-your-luck and resource management. Players take on the roles of daring explorers, seeking treasures in undersea ruins. The twist? Everyone shares a single rented submarine and, crucially, a single tank of air. The game unfolds over three rounds, and the player who accumulates the most points by retrieving underwater relics is declared the winner.

    More details for Deep Sea Adventure
    • 👥 2 - 6 Players
    • ⏱️ 30 Minutes
    • 🧒 8+ years old
    • 🧩 Immediately playable
  18. Railroad Ink: Deep Blue Edition

    Railroad Ink: Deep Blue Edition is a captivating multiplayer puzzle game that combines strategy and luck to create a unique gaming experience.

    Nominated for 2 awards and won 1.

    More details for Railroad Ink: Deep Blue Edition
    • 👥 1 - 6 Players
    • ⏱️ 20 - 30 Minutes
    • 🧒 8+ years old
    • 🧩 Immediately playable
  19. Sagrada

    Sagrada is a visually striking board game where players draft dice to create beautiful stained glass windows, combining strategy and aesthetics.

    Nominated for 13 awards.

    More details for Sagrada
    • 👥 1 - 4 Players
    • ⏱️ 30 - 45 Minutes
    • 🧒 14+ years old
    • 🧩 Easy to learn
  20. Encore! Roll & Write game

    Encore! (originally published as Noch mal!) is a dice-based board game that challenges players with strategic choices and a touch of luck. In this game, players use dice to determine the colors and the number of spaces they can mark off on their playing sheets.

    More details for Encore! Roll & Write game
    • 👥 1 - 6 Players
    • ⏱️ 20 Minutes
    • 🧒 8+ years old
    • 🧩 Immediately playable

    Video reviews for Encore! Roll & Write game

    • YouTube Review for the game "Encore! Roll & Write game" by BoardGameGeek
      Video
  21. BANG! The Dice Game

    BANG! The Dice Game transports players to the U.S. wild west, where the classic confrontation between the law and outlaws unfolds with an added threat of Indian attacks. This dice game adaptation retains the essence of the original Bang! card game while introducing new dynamics and challenges.

    Nominated for 3 awards.

    More details for BANG! The Dice Game
    • 👥 3 - 8 Players
    • ⏱️ 15 Minutes
    • 🧒 8+ years old
    • 🧩 Immediately playable
  22. Camel Up (Spiel des Jahres 2014 winner)

    Camel Up is an exciting and unpredictable racing and betting game where players wager on camels competing in a zany race around a pyramid. With its unique mechanics and charming theme, it's a game that promises fun and laughter for up to eight players.

    Nominated for 13 awards and won 2.

    ⭐️ Spiel des Jahres 2014

    More details for Camel Up (Spiel des Jahres 2014 winner)
    • 👥 2 - 8 Players
    • ⏱️ 20 - 30 Minutes
    • 🧒 8+ years old
    • 🧩 Immediately playable
  23. Sushi Roll

    Sushi Roll is a delightful dice game that transforms the beloved card game Sushi Go! into a dynamic, dice-rolling feast. Players dive into the world of sushi-making with this engaging, family-friendly game that uses dice to represent various sushi ingredients, combining strategy with luck.

    Nominated for 1 award.

    More details for Sushi Roll
    • 👥 2 - 5 Players
    • ⏱️ 20 Minutes
    • 🧒 8+ years old
    • 🧩 Immediately playable

    Video reviews for Sushi Roll

    • YouTube Review for the game "Sushi Roll" by BoardGameGeek
      Video
  24. Escape: The Curse of the Temple – Big Box

    Players must escape from a temple after awakening an ancient curse. They navigate through the temple by rolling dice and matching symbols to gain access to adjacent rooms. Each exploration is unique, and all players must find the exit before the curse traps them forever, all while racing against a soundtrack that acts as the game's timer.

    More details for Escape: The Curse of the Temple – Big Box
    • 👥 1 - 6 Players
    • ⏱️ 10 Minutes
    • 🧒 8+ years old
    • 🧩 Easy to learn
  25. Tumblin-Dice Medium

    • DexterityDexterity
    • Family GameFamily Game
    • Kids' GameKids' Game
    • Dice GameDice Game
    +5 more

    This medium-sized version of the dexterity dice game features four sets of colored dice. Players slide their dice to collect points based on where they land on the board, with multipliers affecting the score. The game consists of four rounds, and the player with the highest score wins.

    More details for Tumblin-Dice Medium
    • 👥 2 - 6 Players
    • ⏱️ 15 Minutes
    • 🧒 6+ years old
    • 🧩 Immediately playable
  26. Panda Royale

    • 👥 2 - 10 Players
    • ⏱️ 20 - 30 Minutes
    • 🧒 8+ years old
    • 🧩 Immediately playable
  27. Railroad Ink: Blazing Red Edition

    Railroad Ink: Blazing Red Edition is a dynamic and engaging multiplayer puzzle game where players aim to build the most efficient transportation network. The game revolves around connecting as many exits as possible on individual erasable boards using routes determined by dice rolls. Strategic planning is key, as players must balance the desire to expand their network with the risk of leaving routes incomplete.

    Nominated for 1 award and won 1.

    More details for Railroad Ink: Blazing Red Edition
    • 👥 1 - 6 Players
    • ⏱️ 20 - 30 Minutes
    • 🧒 8+ years old
    • 🧩 Immediately playable
  28. Space Base

    Space Base is a dynamic and fast-paced dice game that blends strategy and luck, where players take on the roles of Commodores commanding a fleet of ships.

    Nominated for 4 awards.

    More details for Space Base
    • 👥 2 - 5 Players
    • ⏱️ 60 Minutes
    • 🧒 14+ years old
    • 🧩 Easy to learn

    Video reviews for Space Base

    • YouTube Review for the game "Space Base" by BoardGameGeek
      Video
  29. King of the Dice

    You are finally a king! All your dreams have come true as you enjoy the view of your wonderful kingdom filled with green meadows, rolling fields, tall mountains, and clear rivers. However, you need citizens to thrive, so you must promote the merits of your kingdom throughout the land while competing against other kings to attract the best inhabitants.

    More details for King of the Dice
    • 👥 2 - 5 Players
    • ⏱️ 20 - 30 Minutes
    • 🧒 8+ years old
    • 🧩 Immediately playable
  30. Qwinto

    Qwinto offers a refreshing twist on the roll-and-write genre, engaging players in a simultaneous play experience where quick thinking and strategic number placement are key to victory. In this game, players race to fill out their scoresheets with ascending numbers in three colorful rows, while navigating the constraints of overlapping columns and avoiding duplicates to maximize their scores.

    More details for Qwinto
    • 👥 2 - 6 Players
    • ⏱️ 15 Minutes
    • 🧒 8+ years old
    • 🧩 Immediately playable
  31. Mountain Goats

    Mountain Goats is a dynamic and competitive board game where players strive to maneuver their goats to the summits of various mountains to score points. The game combines elements of timing and strategic positioning with direct player interaction, as players can knock each other's goats off the peaks, requiring them to restart their ascent.

    Nominated for 2 awards.

    More details for Mountain Goats
    • 👥 2 - 4 Players
    • ⏱️ 20 Minutes
    • 🧒 8+ years old
    • 🧩 Immediately playable
  32. Cube Quest

    • UK Games Expo Best Family/Children's GameUK Games Expo Best Family/Children's Game
    • DexterityDexterity
    • Family GameFamily Game
    • CombatCombat
    • Pattern BuildingPattern Building
    +9 more

    Players flick lightweight, hollow cubes across specially made rubber mats in a dexterity-based game. The objective is to defeat the opponent's king while managing risks, as cubes can be trapped in enemy territory. Each cube has unique abilities, and players strategically build their armies using a point system to select and position their cubes before battle.

    Nominated for 1 award and won 1.

    More details for Cube Quest
    • 👥 2 - 4 Players
    • ⏱️ 20 Minutes
    • 🧒 7+ years old
    • 🧩 Immediately playable
  33. Looking for a really good dice game that you can play alone? We have compared the best 30 solo dice games for you.

    The best dice games to play solo (Solitaire) →

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