Die in the Dungeon for Mac

Roll the dice and defeat the dungeon

Die in the Dungeon is a free card video game wherein you must clear an entire dungeon filled with enemies using nothing but your luck and wits. Developed by Alarts, Jaun, adrioxo, and SexyBuggy, this is a 2D pixelated indie role-playing game that features deck-building and turn-based combat mechanics.

Similar to The Endless Wyrd and Circadian Dice, Die in the Dungeon is a rogue-lite game that has you using random dice instead of cards to plan your moves. It’s not beginner-friendly due to the lack of a proper tutorial but it can still be appreciated by veteran fans of this subgenre.

Make every turn count

Your goal in Die in the Dungeon is to progress through all 20 floors of a magical dungeon, defeating every enemy in a fight. Each dice is colored and represents an action you can take during your turn: the basic ones being attacking a single target, blocking, healing, and adding more points to the value of another action. Take note that you can only place a maximum of three dice.

Unfortunately, this limit doesn’t increase as you go on to higher levels—although the selection of dice does expand. The spots where you put dice matter, as well, if you’re using those value multiplier dice. However, these advanced mechanics can be confusing for beginners since there’s absolutely no tutorial at all. You only get descriptions of the actions—and the font for that can be hard to read.

For players familiar with this subgenre of card or strategy game, however, this title is actually pretty easy to master. You just need to get used to how to place the dice on the board to get the most optimal of turns. Gameplay aside, the graphics are pretty charming but the interface lacks some useful elements, as well—such as a settings menu and the Give Up button exiting the game.

Badly needs instructions

Overall, Die in the Dungeon is a great choice for any fans of dice-building or rogue-lite card games. While it doesn’t have all the necessary features that would make it accommodating to beginner players, its turn-based combat mechanics—combined with its other interesting gameplay and its cute art style—more than make up for a great time once you get how it works.