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I know roll-and-write games aren’t exactly rare these days. They’re everywhere, and honestly, a lot of them blur together after a while. Still, I keep coming back to them. They’re quick to set up, easy to explain, and they tend to hide more thinking than you expect. The Choice fits right into that category, though it does have one idea that stays with you a bit longer than you expect.
Every die roll forces you to choose between its colour or its number. That sounds simple, maybe even obvious. To be fair, it is simple. But it’s also the kind of simple decision that keeps nudging you later on. You don’t just pick what works now, you’re shaping what will still be possible five or ten rounds from now. And yes, sometimes you realise a bit too late that past-you was not as clever as they thought.
👥 2-4 players, ages 8+
⌛ Playing time: 20 minutes
📝 Designers: Reinhard Staupe
🎨 Artwork: Oliver Freudenreich & Sandra Freudenreich
🏢 Publisher: KENDi (review copy provided)
Gameplay overview
The game uses three custom dice and double-sided player sheets. Everyone uses the same dice results each round, and one player is the active player who rolls the dice.
At the start, each player gets a pencil and a sheet and chooses which side to begin on. Each side is split into two areas that score separately. On the outside you have colour spaces, and in the centre you have numbered spaces. You play one side until it ends, then flip the sheet and continue on the back.
Each round, the active player rolls all three dice. If they’re happy, great. If not, they get exactly one reroll, choosing to reroll one, two, or all three dice. Once the result is final, everyone uses those dice on their own sheet at the same time. Each die shows a number and a colour, and you have to choose which one you’re using. Each die can only be used once per round by a player, either for its colour or its number.
The colour spaces form a ring around the outside of the sheet. Your first colour can be anywhere. After that, every new colour space you mark has to be adjacent to one you already have. Over time, this turns into a single connected shape that slowly becomes harder to grow without blocking yourself.
In the centre, the numbered spaces work differently. You start by marking any number space using one die or several dice added together. That starting space gets circled. From there, you extend a continuous path by marking adjacent spaces and drawing a line between them. The path can’t cross or touch itself. Early on, this feels generous. Later, it feels like the game is watching you paint yourself into a corner.
You don’t have to use all three dice every round. But unused dice can cost you. The active player must use all three dice to avoid a misthrow, while non-active players must use at least two. Mark three misthrows and that side of your sheet is done, you score it and flip over. You’re also allowed to end your first sheet early and score it voluntarily after any round, even without three misthrows. That option disappears on the second side, which always ends the hard way.
The game ends as soon as someone finishes their second sheet, either by taking a third misthrow or by filling all colour and number spaces. Both sides are scored, colour areas only scoring if you reach the required size, and number paths scoring based on their length. Highest total wins.
Artwork, components, and visual design
The Choice doesn’t try to impress you visually, and that’s probably fine. Everything is clean, readable, and very functional.
You get a pad of double-sided sheets, three dice, and four pencils. The sheets use a warm yellow background, with colour spaces that are clearly outlined and easy to tell apart, which matters more than it sounds when you’re trying to see adjacency at a glance.
The numbered spaces in the centre are neutral and spacious enough to draw paths without everything turning into one big scribble. Scoring tables and misthrow boxes sit around the edges and do exactly what they need to do. No decoration, no distractions. All scoring info is printed on the sheet, which means the rulebook can stay closed after the first game.
The dice combine a clear number with a solid colour background. They’re easy to read, and they reinforce the whole idea of choice without you having to think about it. Overall, it’s compact, practical, and a bit plain. That won’t excite everyone, but it does its job.
Our experience
The Choice is easy to get going. Setup takes almost no time, and explaining the rules is straightforward. Most people really understand the game after a few rounds rather than during the explanation, which I honestly prefer. Turns move quickly, even with more players, and because everyone uses the same dice, nobody is sitting around waiting.
What stood out for us is how differently players react to the same rolls. One person doubles down on colours, another desperately tries to keep their number path alive, and suddenly you can see how early decisions start to shape very different sheets.
After a few rounds, you kind of know what the game is going to ask of you. Early rounds feel open and forgiving. Later on, things tighten up and choices start feeling heavier. You’re less focused on growing and more on not breaking something. That shift just happens on its own. The game doesn’t need to force it.
Misthrows definitely push you along, without feeling like the game is out to get you. Being forced to use a minimum number of dice keeps you engaged and stops you from just waiting for perfect rolls. Sometimes taking a misthrow feels like the least bad option, which is not the same as feeling good about it. But that’s kind of the point.
Interaction between players is minimal. Apart from the active player’s reroll decision occasionally messing with other plans, everyone is mostly solving their own puzzle.
Our thoughts
For us, the core skill in The Choice is keeping options open. Both the colour area and the number path punish you once things become too narrow. If either system gets too rigid, the dice stop feeling like tools and start feeling like obstacles.
Most turns aren’t about pushing your score higher. They’re about stopping something from collapsing. Choosing a slightly awkward number now can be better than choosing the perfect one that traps your path later. The number route, especially, feels like a small self-made maze, and you really notice when you’ve designed it poorly.
Where the game may not work for everyone is variety and interaction. There’s no changing setup, no asymmetry, and no surprises hiding in the box. What you see is what you get. If you enjoy roll-and-write games as quiet thinking puzzles, that’s fine. If you want drama, player conflict, or big swings, this will probably feel a bit restrained.
The Choice feels solid and well thought out, without trying to be clever for the sake of it. The combination of colour connectivity and number routing works nicely, even if it doesn’t redefine the genre. It’s a good filler-length game that’s easy to return to, as long as you’re happy spending twenty minutes quietly arguing with yourself. And to be honest, I seem to be very good at that.
📝 We received a copy of the game from KENDi.
