Dice games are a big part of the activities you will do for fun in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2. But what are the rules, can we cheat, how do we win ? This guide will provide every information you need to beat most of your enemies, but remember: it will always involve luck !
How to Play the Dice Mini-Game in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 ?
Very early in the game, you will come across a tutorial for the Dice mini-game in KCD2. The tutorial isn’t very hard, and losing isn’t going to hurt your play through. You can play the mini-game until you win, so take your time while in the tutorial to really understand it.
But the rules are explained in a long, convoluted text wall (as are a lot of things in KCD2) so you probably skipped it, won anyway, and now you find yourself with your 10 last Groschens and you need to know a little more about the game. Don’t worry, we've got you covered.
The rules are pretty simple : you have six dice, and when it’s your turn you throw them. Once they are thrown, two things can occur : one or more dice can give you points, or none can. In the event where no dice will give you points, your turn is skipped.
If at least one die can give you points, you can choose to save it, pushing it aside on the table. The points the dice would bring you are “stored” (you don’t have them yet ! You need to willingly pass to bank your points).
Once you’ve chosen which dice to save, you can throw the remaining dice. You repeat the process, saving dice that can give points and rolling. If one of the rolls would give you 0 points, you lose all your points and skip your turn. If you choose to pass your turn, you are given the points from the saved dice.
Here are the different suites and point system :
Just to try and get a better idea of how it works, here is mock up game:
You play against Rattus Maximus. The first at 2000 points is the winner.
- Your turn: you roll, and get : 1, 3, 4, 3, 4, 2. You choose to keep 1, saving 100 points for one.
- Roll: you roll 5 dice. You get 2, 2, 2, 5, 6. You can choose to keep the three twos, for 200 points, but it’s a bit too low, so you only keep the 5, for 50 points, and roll the 4 other dice. You have 2 dice and 150 points saved up.
- Roll: you roll 4 dice. You get lucky, and get 1, 1, 1, 2, 3 ! You save the three ones, for 1000 points, and get the lucky rush and choose to roll.
- Roll: you roll 2 dice. No ! Bad luck, you get 2, 4. Those dice don’t give you any point, so you HAVE to pass, so you lose all your points and your turn is skipped. The safe bet would have to save your three ones the turn before and pass willingly, then banking 1150 points.
- Enemy turn: he rolls, and gets 2, 2, 3, 3, 4, 4. There’s nothing here so he has to pass, and marks 0 points.
- Your turn : you roll your 6 dice, you get very lucky with 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. You save 1500 points, and as all your dice will give you points, you can roll all 6.
- Roll : you roll 6 dice, get 1, 1, 5, 2, 2, 4. You save two ones and one 5, for 250. To not lose your 1750 points, you pass your turn willingly, baking those 1750 points.
- Enemy turn: he rolls 6 dice, gets 1, 1, 1, 3, 4, 6. He keeps three ones, for 1000 save points.
- Roll: he rolls 3 dice, gets 1, 5 and 2. He keeps 1, rolls. 1100 points stored.
- Roll: he rolls 2 dice, gets 1 and 3. He keeps the 1, willingly passes, and gets the 1200 points he stored.
- Your turn: You roll 6 dice. You get 1, 2, 2, 4, 5, 5. You keep only one one to store 100 points.
- Roll: You roll 5 dice. You get 5, 3, 5, 2, 6. You keep only one five, for 50 points, to try and get than 2 fives.
- Roll: You roll 4 dice, get 1, 1, 2, 4. You keep two ones for 200 points, and pass willingly, saving the 350 points from this turn and giving you the win !
Once you are okay with the basics, there are 2 other things to think about :
Unique Dice and How they work in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2
During your adventures in Bohemia, you will come across different dice with special effects. You can buy them, loot them, steal them. How they work is pretty simple :
- You can see each dice effect directly in your inventory. You can then choose, when starting a game of dice, to play with them or not. Their effects will always be true, so if you have a die that only rolls threes : it only rolls threes, you can’t do anything about it.
- Then, you play the game as usual, but with special dice.
You will come across dice like this a lot, and with time, will be able to build a collection to have funny effects and combos.
Dice Badges and How they work in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2
You can earn badges while adventuring, winning at dice games, knocking down nests, stealing people, etc. What do they actually do ?
In the game where you can use them, you can choose to invest one of them to increase your winning chances. As an example, the Golden warlord's badge doubles the points of one your turn. Another example is the Gold Doppelgänger badge, a badge you can find pretty early on in the game, that will double the points scored from your last throw when you choose to use it, available three times per game.
Badges are very important once you play a bit, and will clutch out some games for you and save you money !
How to win the dice mini-game in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 ?
Now that you know how to play the game (you will still have to actually play a few games to get the hang of the flow), how can you play to actually win ?
First, how to win without taking into account every dice / badges, just with a fresh set of regular dice and no badges, what are the good reflexes to have.
This game is very close to poker in how it works. Patience and the good balance between taking risks and the willingness to pass to save a few points are key. Don’t rush it, and don’t forget it’s (mostly) a game of chance : you need to play a lot of games to actually see a profit once you’re good ! At the start, you will lose money.
Here are a few tips :
- Don’t save a lot of weak dice. If you find yourself with a lot of 1 and 5, but not enough to actually make a suit (e.g. 1, 1, 5, 5, 2, 2), just save one one dice to roll the remaining ones. Don’t save all the 1 and 5, you still have a high chance to get a better hand.
- Don’t be greedy when even or ahead. Games can (and will) be close in point, so even if you find yourself with only 400 points at the end of your turn, don’t greed and roll a solitary dice. Just pass.
- Greed when behind. If you are behind (a lot), greed as much as possible. Technically, if you manage to value every dice in every hand, you can play without stopping for hours.
- Take your time to spot your suits. The AI you are playing against will spot its suits instantly, but don’t get pushed to play fast : take your time, look for the best outcome with the dice you have.
- Don’t overstay your welcome. Don’t try to save your loss, quit when you still have enough money to do more important things !
When you have access to unique dice, don’t use them without thinking: read what they do and use them with intent, to upgrade your set. Playing with a random “this dice always lands on 3” without changing the other dice would be very bad.
And regarding badges, one that allows you to multiply your points are usually the best ones, as the custom dice will change the odds of the game.
FAQ
Why Am I losing at dice ?
Either you don’t see the suits your dice roll, you tend to play a bit too scared and only save low points, you play a bit too aggressive and never save, you have a bad dice set, no badges, or your opponents has a lot of luck.
Where can I find Badges ?
Badges can be found everywhere : on people, in chests, in nests, in quest rewards… You will have to look for them, but they aren’t that rare, unless you are looking for a specific one.
What’s a good Dice set ?
A good dice set will have dice that synergies with each other and, for example, guarantees at least one suit with every roll. You can either build a set that will mark a few points but will make sure that every dice hits, so you can play again and again and again, or a die that will close to guarantee a big suit in each roll, scoring a lot of points instantly.
