Roll and write games have been surging in popularity recently among many gamers, but Purple Phoenix Games never really got too into them. The game industry has many wonderful entries now, and finding a great one may be somewhat daunting. Are we recommending Roar and Write! from Galactic Raptor Games? Read on (okay you don’t have to read too far, we love it).
| Roar and Write! (2020) | Galactic Raptor Games |
| 1-99 Players | 15-20 minutes |
| Ages 8+ | BGG Weight – (not yet available) |
A new ruler in The Animal Kingdoms is needed and it is up to you to appease the five sitting council members for consideration. By giving them exactly what they want you will be able to improve your standing and possibly rise to the top in this quick-playing dice game.
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a prototype copy of this game for the purposes of this review. These are preview copy components, and the final components will probably be different from these shown. Also, it is not my intention to detail every rule in the game, as there are just too many. You are invited to back the game through the upcoming Kickstarter campaign, order from your FLGS, or purchase through any retailers stocking it after fulfillment. -T
Setup for Roar and Write! is simple. Choose a difficulty level to be played, assign the required council leaders, each with their own requirements to satisfy, deal each player a pencil, scoresheet, and one Personal Agenda card (secret goals to satisfy throughout the game). You are now ready to begin appeasing!
Roar and Write! takes place over five ages (rounds) and each age consists of three dice rolls. Each time the dice are rolled, players may choose which, or all, dice results to be used to influence the council members on their sheet. Any leftover dice results can be used in the Kingdoms area at the top of the sheet – first number is free each roll, but will cost a Council Offering spot for every Kingdom result added thereafter. Example – I use three 4s for Council Offerings, and the remaining results are two 5s and a 1. I want to use the two 5s so I mark both of them up in the Kingdom area and mark one Council Offering box with an X to decrease my ability to fill more spots there. A sacrifice and a gamble. Gotta love it!
Each Council member has unique requirements to satisfy, and players can only concentrate on one Council member per age, and choosing one early in the age to complete has advantages in extra points scored. Players also have their secret Personal Agendas (agendae?) to consider each age as well. Play continues through three rolls in each of the five ages. Once the final roll has been completed and players have done what they can to score as many points as possible, end game scoring happen to determine the winner of the game and the next ruler of the Animal Kingdom!
Components. Again, this is a prototype copy of the game, and certain components will probably be adjusted throughout the course of a successful Kickstarter campaign. That said, what we were shipped is a GORGEOUS game in a Tiny Epic-sized box. The table footprint is excellently small, the artwork is simply stunning, and I truly cannot wait to see what upgrades the KS campaign will bring.
What I love about roll and writes is probably true about most games in the genre: being able to see what is rolled and create my own strategy. Players aren’t rolling to move ahead more spaces than other players. They aren’t attacking each other. They are simply trying to get the best score. To maximize the usage of the resources provided to them. That said, this game has no player interaction whatsoever. I typically frown upon games where it is, “multiplayer solitaire” (thanks Duke Alex). However, Roar and Write is so fast and so engaging, that I really didn’t have time to worry about other players, nor did I really care what they were doing. In the end, it’s all about the points, and that’s what makes this a great game – I can play it with any group size, and I have been pleasantly surprised at how happy I was to play it solo as well.
So, if you are in the market for a roll and write game that is small in size, packs a decent crunchy punch, and has simply amazing art, Roar and Write! should be next on your wish list. Please consider backing it on Kickstarter, which will be launching at the end of June, 2020. I know I’ll be on the prowl to be gifting these little cuties to my friends and family!
