The Joy of Popping Popcorn with Gourmet Popcorn Dice
Craft a selection of popcorn by taking a few chances and getting lucky with the delightful game of Gourmet Popcorn Dice.
In a perfect twist of fate, I’ve been hosting the monthly Solitaire Games on Your Table GeekList, where I naturally chose to go all out with my popcorn tricycle! The throwaway item I’ve been using for activities is Gourmet Popcorn Dice… And guess what I found? A copy for sale! I had to laugh at the coincidence, and eagerly got to rolling and popping!
Game Overview
Game Name: Gourmet Popcorn Dice
Publication Year: 2023
Designer: A. J. Porfirio
Artist: Scott Beavers
Publisher: Van Ryder Games
Solo Mode: None (Multihanded)
This is all about rolling dice! It’s possible to stop at any time, yet it gets risky to build up burnt popcorn or lose out on scoring any pops. Dice pairs can also provide extra bonuses. Not too much strategy is going on here, yet this is just a lighthearted and silly bit of fun to enjoy!
First Play
November 13, 2023
Complexity
1
Latest Play
November 13, 2023
Expansions
0
Setup Time
Almost None
Lifetime Plays
4
Play Time
5 Minutes
High Score
59
Game Area
10" x 10"
Low Score
19
Popcorn Showdown
The familiar squeaking of these wheels was apparent right away… The official popcorn tricycle driver showed up to act as my solo opponent of sorts, and she was prepared!
I imagine there is probably an easy way to create a solo variant, although I simply played to find out which of us could reach 40 victory points first. Very fun, indeed!
The storage container doubles as the place to roll dice, which was pretty deafening, yet a good ol’ time for me!
Actually, the popcorn tricycle popper is about the perfect volume, at least in Calico Critter terms. Ha ha!
Winner, Winner!
There aren’t many rules to understand, yet my favorite part of this rulebook is the little kernel character.
I tried my best to get the perfect pop, which results in an automatic victory. No such luck during any of these plays!
Make no mistake: I’m not here to try to explain how this is a genius set of rules with all sorts of strategies. It’s just plain fun to roll some dice and laugh for a few minutes!
Actually, this was no laughing matter, as I did absolutely horribly against the popcorn tricycle driver. Pretty sure she wondered why I challenged her expertise. Amateur!
Pairing Up Popcorn
Some of my best rolls saw almost all of the dice worth something. Too much burnt popcorn just ruined the entire batch, so it was important not to push my luck too much.
Judging by how I scored, that wasn’t the case. I still made all of the decisions, yet I’ll allow this Calico Critter sheep to think she was the mastermind behind her victories. Ha!
I liked the added scoring bonus that kicked in when matching pairs were popped. Slightly strategic!
Could I have rolled these dice normally? Sure, but the extreme noise was a selling point and kept me giggling.
Fixing My Burnt Dice
Alright, this is false advertising orchestrated by this popcorn tricycle driver. Contrary to photographic evidence, I did not roll all of this burnt popcorn!
Note how she’s holding out a popcorn bucket? This is all a thinly veiled marketing campaign to make sure she corners the market on worldwide tiny popcorn sales.
Ha! Such a fun time. There wasn’t a lot more to this one than mindlessly rolling dice, but did there need to be?
I’m still enjoying the fact that I stumbled across this game at the perfect time. But can I get the perfect pop, please?!
When a Rating Doesn’t Mean Everything
Surprising absolutely no one, my rating for this one turned out to be pretty low. Yet that scale has worked for me for years, so it actually tells me a lot more than the single final number. For this to actually rate above a lot of solo games I’ve passed on says a lot… It’s actually pretty fun for literally coming down to rolling some dice over and over!
One important part of this hobby that sometimes gets overshadowed with the immense amount of information, statistics, ratings, reviews, and comparisons is obvious, yet easy to forget: Fun. This one isn’t meant to be anything beyond a bunch of simple fun. So important to me right now. I know I’ll always laugh when I hear these dice popping!
Session Overview
Play Number: 1-4
Solo Mode: None (Multihanded)
Outcome: 19-43, 59-40, 41-45, 20-44 (1 Win & 3 Losses)
No popcorn perfection over here! I kind of enjoyed the idea of playing multihanded in this extremely lightweight experience. Not every game has to do a whole lot to be fun. I’m not going to love this one all the time, thanks to the noise and pure luck, but sometimes, it’s all about just having a few laughs at my solo table! I can always challenge my popcorn tricycle driver to a duel… And my husband will know it’s going on from across the house!
%
1 Play
Affordability
Price & Value
10
Functionality
Challenges & Mechanics
7
Originality
Design & Theme
4
Quality
Components & Rules
9
Reusability
Achievement & Enjoyment
6
Variability
Distinctness & Randomness
2
+ Pros (Positives)
- All of the dice look lovely with high quality production, bright colors, and unique icons that stand out.
- Pairing up dice for victory points adds a little bit of strategy to how far to go with the push-your-luck element.
- Play time flies by with gameplay focused on rolling, keeping dice, and repeating until the end of each turn.
- Despite it being so lightweight and practically devoid of choices, the experience is centered around simple fun.
- The rulebook is very short and presents the concepts in a clear, concise way that doesn’t require any work.
- Working towards the perfect pop creates another level of enjoyment to each roll, as the outcome could be amazing.
– Cons (Negatives)
- Rolling the dice inside the plastic container is recommended, but the noise is pretty extreme from start to end.
- There aren’t that many decisions to make and the game sort of plays itself with the pure luck of each roll.
- Although the theme is rather fun and cute, nothing stands out mechanically from other similar light games.
- Everything fits inside the plastic container, yet the top is a bit decorative and may pop off a little too easily.
Victory Conditions
Score the Most Points
- Overall Goal Progress 0%
Goals and Milestones
Score at least 1 Perfect Pop.
Continue the Conversation
What do you think of Gourmet Popcorn Dice? Are there any solo games in your collection there for some simple laughs? I know I’ll probably be one of the only people I know who enjoys this one… Yet that’s awesome! It’s a fun time that requires no mental effort, aside from steeling oneself against the noise of properly popping popcorn dice. Ha ha!
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