Cuphead, The Fast Rolling Cooperative Dice Game Overview

It’s always great to get some new games in our house. There are two types of board gamers here. One type who likes to play games they already know. These board gamers can relax as they already understand the rules and the flow of the game. The second type loves playing new games no matter what. This involves reading and figuring out new rules and getting to see what the new game offers compared to others. My wife is the first type, while I am the second. For this reason, it can be a battle as to what games we play together. Luckily for me, I also have kids who also love learning new games, and will play whatever game, whenever. Every time I try busting out a new game, we encounter the same roadblock. I would argue that learning new games teaches the mind how to bend more. It makes you use more brain power to comprehend and process new information. Ultimately I find using my brain relaxing, and Lauren relaxes more when she doesn’t have to process new rules. 

So luck seems to continue to be on my side, as we were sent a copy of Cuphead: Fast Rolling Dice Game by The Op. This game was just great for our family, as it’s a cooperative game, and involves rolling dice. I was excited as I got to see what new things this game provides compared to others I’ve played. Lauren was ok learning it because it isn’t a complicated game that overloads the brain, and quickly diminishes its power. Cuphead dice game is for 1-4 players and involves a frantic 30-45 minutes of dice rolling excitement. Everyone is rapidly rolling dice trying to get certain results. Being fast is to your advantage because you can keep rolling your dice in that allotted time frame.

Setup is done by picking one of the four characters to play as, grabbing its board and 6 dice, and placing 3 HP tokens on its health spots. The game includes 8 battle boss decks to play against, and you will start with the first and progress toward harder bosses as you play. The numbers of players in the game changes how much health each enemy has. Players will work individually, but also as a team to defeat each boss. 

Three attack cards are placed out on the main board, and each card shows the needed icon to successfully defend against that boss this round. You will be placing your rolled dice into slots on your player board matching the icons shown on those cards. But it’s not THAT easy. There is a round timer that gives players from 10 to 20 seconds, (we had to increase this when playing with the kids to make it more enjoyable for them) to play the ‘real time’ part of this game. Players will roll their dice and place as many as they would like on their board, and continue rolling, and placing dice as the time runs. Players must place their dice from left to right, making it so you need specific results in the specific shown order.

If a boss card only shows one icon, this might be your time to deal damage to them by placing out a ‘shoot’ icon on a die on the second space provided. Each boss has a health value and after rolling and placing dice, you will see if you took any damage from that enemy, and also, if you dealt any damage out to them as well. Players work together to defend themselves by rolling the icons shown on the cards, but also placing as many ‘shoot’ icons out as possible. As the game continues you will unlock other rules that will change the game a little bit at a time.

If a player loses all their health, another player can keep them alive by playing a parry token and giving them 1 health point to continue playing. For each chapter, or boss deck you will need to defeat each boss to continue to the next one. You will keep your health and other bonuses until you defeat the entire deck, so make sure you are prepared to face-off against multiple bosses. Players gain coins while playing, and when progressing on in the game, equipment cards will become available for players to spend their coins on. This will help to become a stronger player, and most importantly, you will be more able to fight harder bosses. 

If you need a break before finishing all the bosses, you can utilize the save sheet to mark your progress. It allows you to continue facing off against multiple bosses until you get through all 8 decks. While we were ready to stop, the kids were determined to get better at managing the limited 20 seconds. They kept practicing by setting a timer and rolling again and again to get what matched the cards. This ‘real time’ mechanic put an impression on them, and it seemed to continue to motivate them to keep trying.

This experience was different from a lot of other games because you have to do all your thinking quickly as allotted by the timer. I honestly think it helped bend theirs brains a little more, and helped them make decisions more quickly. And of course, we still made Lauren learn too. Good thing because she helped us defeat the next highest and hardest boss!

In Cuphead the dice game, players are working together to defeat iconic bosses from the 1930’s. The game tries to emulate the side-scrolling, run-and-gun excitement that was originally found in the Cuphead video game. After you keep defeating bosses and moving on you will definitely get that feeling while playing this game! It’s easy to pick up on how to play, especially if you are familiar with the video game.

This game offers us a fun experience that is different from the ways we usually enjoy a game. The kids continue to practice and want to play this game again and again. Roll, look, place, and roll again. They understand what they are trying to do, which is sometimes the biggest challenge in new games for them. And Lauren didn’t feel like she had to invest in learning a lot of complex rules. Cuphead Fast Rolling Dice Game is available direct from The Op, online or at local game stores. It would be great for a family to play through together, as its success is all in those dice.

Do you enjoy learning new games or prefer to stick with ones you know?