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Roll and move games use one of the oldest and basic board game mechanics – rolling a dice and moving a pawn.
Many of the classic board games that collect dust on your shelf rely solely on the roll and move mechanic, and for many people it’s their first introduction to board games (think chutes and ladders or Monopoly).
These games are generally looked down on by board gamers due to their reliance on luck, their basic mechanics and lack of theme.
So why am I writing an article about them?
It’s simple. There are some really good roll and move board games out there that for the most part, get overlooked by gamers.
With hobby board games becoming more and more popular, sometimes it’s good to sit back and play something simple where there is not much going on, but still plenty to think about.
Below are what I believe to be the best roll and move board games and the reasons why I have chosen them for this list!
The 5 Best Roll and Move Board Games
1. Deep Sea Adventure
Players: 2 – 6
Duration: 30mins
Deep sea adventure is my favorite roll to move board game. The game incorporates a push your luck mechanic that will have the greediest players lying dead and bloated on the Ocean floor.
It has a tiny footprint so it can be played almost anywhere, including at a restaurant or on a plane.
The games theme focuses on a group of fearless adventurers (the players) who have spent their last remaining money on a submarine to explore the ocean floor looking for treasure.
The player that brings back the most treasure alive. Wins. The losers… well as I said before… remain on the Ocean floor.
Pros:
- Small design and components – can play almost anywhere
- The push your luck mechanic is genius – its way to tempting to get one more treasure
- Game is quick to play and a lot of fun
Cons:
- The game is punishing. One wrong mistake and you will run out of oxygen and perish
- Oxygen is shared – one players decision affects everyone else
- Game plays up to six players but is more suited to 4 or less
2. Formula D
Players: 2 – 10
Duration: 60mins
Formula D is a great formula 1 style racing board game. The game uses customized dice to move the racers around the track and has a very clever mechanic for handling the corners.
The theme of the board game is relatively self-explanatory, players each have a vehicle and are racing around the track. The first one across the finish line wins.
The game board comes double sided which is a cool change of scenery. One side is a typical motorsports circuit. Flip it over and you have a fast and the furious style street race circuit.
Each player has a vehicle on the board as well as a gear shift panel which determines how fast you move down the track and also how you handle corners.
The game is challenging. You can’t just floor it through hairpin corners at full speed. You need to manage your gears and slow down before the corner hits. If not, you will spin out and your car will take damage.
Similarly, if you crash into another car, you can both get damaged – your fate will rest in the hands of a 20-sided black dice.
If you love motorsports or are a huge fan of Formula 1… heck even if you aren’t, you will love this game.
Pros:
- Very clever mechanic to handle corners and speed of vehicles
- Well-made components
- Easy mechanics – but still requires strategy and thought
Cons:
- Over 6 players and the game really slows to a crawl
- Counting moves that vehicles move per turn is time consuming
- Luck dependent
3. Nautilion
Players: 1 – 2
Duration: 15mins – 30mins
Nautilion is a brilliant solo or duo roll and move game designed by Shadi Torbey and is part of the well regarded Oniverse series of games.
In the game the players control the Nautilion, a submarine that needs 9 different sailors in order to sail correctly.
The aim of the game is to get the Nautilion to the Dark Isles before the Phantom Submarine (the bad guys) get to the Happy Isles.
At the start of the game you choose your layout of the Nautilion. Each layout (card) is slightly different and affects how the crew members can be picked up and added to the submarine.
In the game, tokens representing crew members are arranged in one continuous line. The Nautilion and Phantom Submarine start at opposite ends of this line. There is a third evil-doer called the Darkhouse who sits to the side… he’s an angry little guy.
When playing you roll three six sided-dice. These dice have abnormal pips (1,1,2,2,3,4). Once rolled, players need to decide which dice goes to the Nautilion, which goes to the Phantom Submarine and which goes to the Darkhouse.
The Nautilion and Phantom Submarine simply move along the line of crew members as shown on the dice allocated to them. The Nautilion is able to pick up the crew member it lands on. The Phantom Submarine discards the crew member it lands on (don’t worry there is 4 of each crewman).
If the dice given to the Darkhouse is a 3 or a 4 you need to discard one of your crew members in the Nautilion or your reserve pile, otherwise – on all other numbers nothing happens.
There are also some spells players can cast on the turns – which have different effects in the game.
Players win if they can get the Nautilion to the end of the line of crew member tokens WITH all nine crew slots filled, before the Phantom Submarine reaches the other end.
I absolutely love the artwork of Nautilion, it is painted like a children’s book with colorful water color and characters and pieces that spark your imagination. The game is very fun to play for a roll and move game and involves a lot of strategic thinking.
The game also comes with a few expansions to keep things interesting and add to the core mechanics.
Pros:
- Awesome artwork
- Great solo roll and move game
- All games always feel like they come down to the wire
Cons:
- Like most roll and move – some luck involved
- Game decisions are a bit to obvious with the base game – requires expansion for depth
4. Magical Athlete
Players: 4 – 5
Duration: 60mins
Magical Athlete is a roll and move game that requires a slightly higher number of players to play.
The game has multiple phases and the first of them is not rolling and moving. But the second part is.
The game starts with each player receiving the same amount of seed money in order to buy their team. An auction is held to buy the randomly drawn racer cards which each have their own special ability to use in the game (most which modify the movement rules of the game).
During a game there are 4 to 5 races. At the start of a round players all simultaneously choose a racer from their purchased team in secret and place them on the board.
Players then roll a six-sided dice to determine their players movement in the race (obviously modified by whatever special skill their character has).
This game is chaos and it is awesome!
I love the special abilities of the racers. It makes for some incredibly epic play. For example, one of the racers abilities is for it to switch places with another racer on the board. The strategy for this racer is to hang back in a race and swap with the player running first.
No matter which racers you get – you will always get one with a crazy and wacky ability that will cause anarchy on the board and have everyone raging or in fits of laughter.
Pros:
- Modifiers on the racers make the game very fun
- Game is great for large group of players
Cons:
- Components are a bit flimsy
- Need at least 4 people to play
5. Backgammon
My list of the best roll and move board games would not be complete without paying homage to one of the oldest and best board games in the genre – Backgammon.
Backgammon is a game that dates back thousands of years and is one of the oldest board games still played today (and for good reason).
The game is simple enough to understand. Each player starts with 15 tokens that need to be moved from their starting positions, around and then off the board.
6-sided dice are rolled each turn and the player must decide which token is moved based on the outcome of the dice roll.
During the game, players can ‘capture’ their opponents’ pieces on the board and return them to their starting positions.
The winner is the first player to get all 15 tokens off the board.
Backgammon is an awesome board game to play. It’s easier than chess to learn and, while there is a luck element, skill plays an enormous part in the game.
It is also one of the most accessible games in the world with most cities having a backgammon club where you can play with other people.
Pros:
- Over 5,000 years old and still being played
- Incredibly simple set up and rules
- Luck element – but skill plays a large role
Cons:
- Abstract board game – no theme
- With blocking it is possible to destroy opponent – but takes a long time to play the game out
Final Thoughts
Roll and move games are often overlooked by board game fans. They brush them off as being too simple or reliant on luck.
This is unfortunate because there are some real gems in the roll and move board game genre. The above list are the 5 games that I think are incredibly fun to play and stand out in this category of games.
If you are looking at moving to try a slower simpler pace of game, or want a break from hobby gaming, I urge you to try one of the games above. You will not be disappointed.
