- Dicevaders tutorial: Learn dice scoring, columns, and attack math before your first invasion
- Core loop: Roll dice, budge results, score pairs, and shop every turn to scale your grid
- Key resources: Budges adjust dice once each; Chronos enable rerolls — spend both wisely
- Scaling rule: Planet defense jumps fast (100 to millions), so prioritize multiplier artifacts early
- Demo tip: Practice the full opening campaign in the free demo on Steam
Dicevaders Core Mechanics Explained
Dicevaders, from the developers of Starvaders, is a strategy roguelike where you build a grid of alien invaders and roll dice to destroy a human star system one planet at a time. Each planet has a defense target (Pluto starts at 100) and you get a limited number of turns to exceed that number with your total attack score.
The central mechanic is column-based dice scoring:
- Dice determine columns: Only units placed in rolled columns contribute attack
- Damage formula: Unit attack equals strength × dice power, and each die in a column adds +1 dice power
- Example: A 10-strength unit in a column with two dice deals 10 × 2 = 20 damage
- Pairs trigger effects: Scoring a pair in a column activates many unit and artifact bonuses, plus extra mini dice
Video Highlights:
- Full walkthrough of the Pluto and Neptune invasions
- Live demonstration of budging dice and forming pairs
- Shop management, artifact leveling, and mini dice scaling
- A complete run ending at the final Lunar Shield defense
Column 5 is one of the strongest scoring columns in the early game. Stacking units and multiplier artifacts (like Shy Pluto's molt) into a single high-value column outperforms spreading strength evenly across your grid.
Key Resources: Budges, Chronos, and Hearts
Resource management separates a winning invasion from a wasted run. Every turn visits the shop, where you must spend your coins — there is no banking money between turns.
| Resource | What It Does | Best Use |
|---|---|---|
| Budge | Nudge one die up or down one face | Form a pair or hit a key column |
| Chrono | Reroll a die (or reroll the shop) | Chase a five, fix bad shops |
| Coins | Spent every shop visit | Units, artifacts, tiles, resources |
| Hearts | Lost when you fail a defense target | Insurance — extras buy riskier turns |
Each die can only be budged once before it crackles, and budges are scarce. Never waste a budge on a roll that doesn't complete a pair or land a key column — sometimes it's better to launch a weak turn and save your manipulation resources.
Other mechanics to master:
- Skip turns for rarity: Skipping a shop visit improves the next shop's rarity tier, trading shop frequency for upgrade quality
- Artifact XP: Many relics gain XP every turn and level up — compound XP relics (like one that grants +10 XP to all artifact gains) scale dramatically
- Mini dice: Scored automatically after base pairs, three at a time — they can chain into enormous turns
- Shielded units: Shields can break to trigger column artifacts, but break timing isn't fully controllable
Step-by-Step: Your First Invasion
Build Around One Strong Column
Place your best units and multiplier artifacts in a single column (five is a proven pick). Concentrated strength × dice power beats scattered grids.
Roll and Read the Board
After rolling, identify natural pairs and near-pairs. Decide whether a single budge completes a pair or reaches your target column before spending anything.
Spend the Shop Fully
Coins don't carry over. Buy units, level artifacts, or grab budges and Chronos. Reroll bad shops only when you have spare Chronos.
Manage Turn Economy
When you're already beating the target, skip for higher shop rarity. When you're behind, take every shop to dig for resources.
Scale Before the Wall
Mid-run planets jump from thousands to millions of defense. Transition to sacrifice units (Blob, Boomer, Migo) and eat-scalers like Leviathan before the final planets.
You must defeat four pilots to win a run. Each pilot modifies the rules — for example, one starts your dice cracked, blocking budges until rerolled. Adjust your resource plan the moment a pilot appears.
Unit and Artifact Archetypes
Multiplier Stackers
- Shy Pluto: molt multipliers on hit
- Doom Ritual: early free molts
- Best in your main scoring column
Sacrifice Units
- Blob: splits into mini blobs on death
- Boomer: rewards being destroyed
- Feed them to scalers like Leviathan
Engine Artifacts
- Teleporter: activates every turn
- Robo Parrot: grants repeat + strength
- Book of Life: buffs Migo swarms
Key synergy patterns observed in successful runs:
| Synergy | Combo | Payoff |
|---|---|---|
| Mini dice engine | Toad Head + pairs | Extra mini dice per scored pair |
| Eat scaling | Leviathan + sacrifice units | Massive single-unit strength |
| XP snowball | XP relics + every-turn gainers | All artifacts level rapidly |
| Repeat loops | Robo Parrot + top unit | Repeat triggers multiply output |
| Budge economy | Budge relics + high budge cap | Consistent pair formation |
Late-game turns live or die on repeat effects. Granting your largest unit +repeat via Robo Parrot-style artifacts can multiply a 100k turn into a multi-million one — exactly what the Lunar Shield demands.
Campaign Defense Targets & Checklist
Planet defense scales aggressively. Plan your build spikes around these walls:
| Planet | Approx. Defense | Run Phase |
|---|---|---|
| Pluto | 100 | Tutorial, build your core column |
| Neptune | 500 | First artifact leveling |
| Uranus | Low thousands | Mini dice engine online |
| Saturn | 14,000+ | Sacrifice units, shop rarity skipping |
| Jupiter / Noel | 86,000 – 500,000 | Leviathan and repeat scaling |
| Lunar Shield | 7,200,000 | All-in final turns |
Failing to reach a planet's target costs a heart. Once hearts run out, the run ends — sometimes one mini die landing on the wrong column is the difference between survival and game over. Bank spare hearts whenever offered.
First Run Milestones:
- Establish a dedicated high-value scoring column
- Acquire at least one budge and one Chrono per turn
- Level a multiplier artifact to level 3
- Build a mini dice engine from pairs
- Defeat the first pilot without losing a heart
FAQ
Q: What is the basic Dicevaders damage formula?
Each unit's attack equals its strength multiplied by dice power in its column. Every die landing in a column adds +1 dice power, so a 10-strength unit under two dice deals 20 damage. Multipliers and repeat effects then scale the total score.
Q: Should I budge dice every turn in this Dicevaders tutorial run?
No. Each die can only be budged once before it cracks, and budges are limited. Only spend a budge when it completes a pair, hits your main scoring column, or pushes you over a planet's defense target.
Q: Is skipping shop turns worth it?
Often yes. Skipping improves the rarity of the next shop, which tends to offer stronger upgrades. Skip when you're comfortably ahead on a planet's defense; take every shop when you need units or resources immediately.
Q: Where can I try Dicevaders?
A free demo is available on Steam, covering the opening invasions. It's the best way to practice the dice, budge, and shop loop before attempting a full four-pilot run.