This guy totally radiates "cool."
Miami Dice is a Yahtzee-like game that you can play only at Gamesville. You have fifteen rounds to score as many points as you can! Each round lasts 15 seconds (eek!) and in that time you have to decide which dice to keep and reroll the rest! After the third roll you're stuck with whatever you have and you must "Claim" a category.
Oooooh!
There are a total of twelve categories to pick from. Unlike regular Yahtzee, you can score any category multiple times! The "Matches" column tells you how many times you've scored that particular category.
Every now and then Mr. Super-Smooth pops up and shoots your dice. I have no idea why, but it's pretty funny. ^_^
Super-Smooth!
Scoring
This part isn't exactly rocket surgery. All of the points are listed on the card!
Handy!
For the top six categories the score is the number of dice times 100. If you rolled four 1's it's 400 points. Roll four 3's and it's still 400 points. Simple! ^_^
Two things to remember about the top half.
- If you make a match in all of the top six categories you get an extra 1,250 points!!
- You can only make a match in the top half if you have two or more of the same dice.
The bottom half is a little different. Most of the categories have set values, but two of them completely depend on the dice!
Working from the top category (in the bottom half) and moving down, first we have a Full House. This is when you haves 3 of a kind and a pair. (If you saw the show Full House, think of the three guys + the Olsen twins.) This is always worth 400 points!
Now the 3 of a kind and 4 of a kind categories are a bit different. Here the dice really matter! For 3 of a kind Miami Dice adds up the face value of the dice and multiplies it by 15. In 4 of a kind it adds up the face value and multiplies it by 25!
Here's an example of a low roll and a high roll for the 3 of a kind category.
- A low roll with three 1's, a 2, and a 4. (1 x 3) + 2 + 4 = 9. Multiply 9 by 15 for a score of 135.
- A high roll with three 6's, a 2, and a 4. (6 x 3) + 2 + 4 = 24. Multiply 24 by 15 for a score of 360.
The next two categories are 4 and 5 in a row. This means that the dice need to be in sequential order. For example: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 are the only options for five in a row. Don't leave these for the end rolls as they're very hard to "force" if you don't have the right dice. (More details on how to get a 5 in a row in the Tips & Tricks section.)
Lastly, the Kilo (5 of a kind.) This is worth the most points!! It doesn't matter if you have five 1's or five 6's, they're both worth 1,000 points.
Check out my luckiest game.
You scored THREE Kilos?!?!
Yup! Three Kilos in one game. It was awesome. ^_^
Additionally, completing the bottom half of the card is worth an extra 1,000 point bonus!
IMPORTANT: You do not have to score a Kilo to complete the bottom half!! It's in a section all its own. Woohoo!!
Lightning Strikes
Starting on round 11, Miami Dice moves into the lightning round. This runs for the last 4 rounds and it's an excellent time to catch up. Everything is worth double!!
2,000 points?! Daaaaaaaaaaang....
For that particular hand I rolled five 4's! Woohoo!!!
The only things that do not double are the bonuses. Those will still be 1,250 and 1,000 points, respectively.
Gamesville Rewards (GVs)
The one downside to Miami Dice is that only the top five players in each game actually win anything. :( But if you're in the top 5, yay!!! ^_^ Each person in the top five (t5) gets 250 GVs. The number one player gets an extra 1,000 GVs, making their total 1,250 GVs!
Even if you're an awesome Miami Dice player you probably won't get in the top 5 every time. Especially if I'm playing. ^_~
BOO-YAH!!
Seriously though, I'm pretty good at this game. (Land in the top 5 most of the time.) So pay attention to the next section. ^_^
Tips & Tricks
Each round is incredibly short (15 seconds!) so you need to have a game plan before you jump in. Have an idea of what you want to do, but be flexible at the same time.
Here are some tips to get you started. ^_^
#1. Work to get the bonus points. With most games the top player usually has around 10,000 points. Earning both bonuses adds 2,250 points to your score. That's a huge chunk!
In order to get both bonuses you need to be strategic when picking what category to score. Remember, you have 15 rounds each game and 12 categories. To earn both bonuses you'll need to score in 11 categories, so that means you have only 4 rounds to act as a cushion.
Start by looking for pairs. Hold a pair and try to turn it into a 3-4 of a kind on rerolls. Claim your score on the top half of the card.
When you're picking what to hold, keep looking at the card to see what categories you still need.
Okay. I'm looking.
I have a pair of 3's and a pair of 1's. I've already scored one match for the 3's in a the last hand, so this time I'm going to keep the 1's and see what I can get.
However, if you end up with 3-4 of a kind in fives or sixes, go ahead and score in the 3-4 of a kind sections in the bottom half of the card IF you haven't scored there yet. Why? Well as you recall, the 3-4 of a kind categories are the only ones where the face value of the dice actually matter. Here's a roll where I have four 1's.
Picking the 1's category earns 400 points, while picking the 4 of a kind category is only 200 points. That's a 200 point difference between the two categories! But look at this next roll.
Here I have four 5's. There's a 175 point difference between the 5's category and the 4 of a kind category.
Now let's say that I use the four 1's for the 4 of a kind (200 points) and I use the four 5's for the 5's category (400 points.) My total for those two rounds is now 600 points. Not bad.
What if I reversed it? If I put the four 1's in the 1's category (400 points) and the four 5's in the 4 of a kind category (575 points) my score is now 975 points. That's a 375 point difference!
The numbers will fluctuate a little, but you should always use 5's and 6's for the 3 of a kind and 4 of a kind categories.
#2. Getting 5 in a row isn't easy, but if you keep your eyes open it doesn't have to be so difficult. ^_^
Ideally you want to start with 2, 3, 4, and 5. Like this:
Okay. Now what?
When you start with dice 2-5, then you need to get either a 1 or a 6 to turn it into 5 in a row. Conversely if you have dice 1-4 only one die will turn it into 5 in a row. The same thing goes if you have dice 3-6.
This means that starting with dice 2-5 doubles your chances of turning it into 5 in a row! Keep an eye out for it!
#3. Kilos are fun, but you need to know when to use them.
That game where I won 3 Kilos? I didn't end up in first place because I forgot to make sure I picked up the bonuses. (Doh.) Remember, you only have four "extra" rounds to play with. I claimed the Kilos but I'd already used up 2 of my extra rounds. That meant I definitely couldn't finish one section, and I had zero wiggle room in regards to errors and mis-rolls. That isn't fun. =(
It's hard not to claim a Kilo when it pops up, but you need to look at where you are in the game.
Imagine this: You're in the 14th round and still need to score in the 5's category to get the top bonus. Low and behold you get a 5's Kilo! It's the lightning round so it's worth 2,000 points. Wow!!
You could:
- Claim the Kilo for 2,000 points and hope to pick up 5's on the last round to get the bonus.
- Claim the 5's and get the bonus for an instant 2,250 points. (1,000 from the lightning round + 1,250 bonus.) The last round is whatever you want.
In a situation like that I can't tell you what to do. But since you have time now, go ahead and decide. If it comes up you'll already have a plan ready. ^_^
#4. Exceptions to the rules.
If you get a Full House or 5 in a row and you haven't scored those categories yet, go ahead and claim them. Those two categories are VERY hard to get on your own. If you can score them early on you'll have a much easier game.
Final Rating
I'll be honest. I didn't have high expectations for a game called Miami Dice, and Mr. Super-Smooth didn't boost my confidence any. *^_^*
Yo.
Once I started playing I was surprised by how fun and addictive this is! The rounds are so fast that you're constantly scheming and planning ahead. And I LOVE that you can score categories more than once.
So yeah, this is now my favorite dice game. ^_^ I wish more people could get GVs, but at the same time I don't really mind having to push to get into the top 5. It makes things challenging.
I'd say this one is 5 stars out of 5. What would you rate it? Do you have any tips you'd like to share?
Similar Games
It's worth noting that I found Miami Dice because another reader mentioned it after reading Para-Dice. I'm always open to suggestions, so if you've heard of another dice game that's free to play (and has prizes) please share! ^_^
Until then, if you like Miami Dice, give some of these games a whirl!
- Para-Dice at Slingo - Three different ways to play this single-play Yahtzee game.
- Yahtzee Party at Pogo - Work in a group to trigger the Yahtzee bonus!
- Double Trouble at GSNOodles - One Joker is fine. Two is better. Three is great! Four and you're dead!