Seeing Spots: A Delightful Dog Game of Dice and Tricks
Complete fun tricks and use dice to fill in different spot patterns to create an adorable dog pack in Spots.
Very rarely do I take a chance on a new solo game without any prior coverage. Technically, I do that enough with all of my crowdfunded games! Yet Spots stood out to me not only for its adorable use of dogs, but the clever way dice could fill in spot patterns. Such a wonderful idea! I wasn’t expecting too much… Aside from lots and lots of silly dogs!
Game Overview
Game Name: Spots
Publication Year: 2022
Designers: Alex Hague, Jon Perry, and Justin Vickers
Artist: John Bond
Publisher: CMYK
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
The goal is to complete a total of 6 dogs by rolling dice and placing them on spaces. Action selection provides choices, while pushing your luck remains a vital component. Bury too many unused spots, and all of the dice go away! It’s a quick but interesting game all about enjoying the dogs!
First Play
December 29, 2022
Complexity
1
Latest Play
October 6, 2024
Expansions
0
Setup Time
Almost None
Lifetime Plays
12
Play Time
5 Minutes
High Score
N/A
Game Area
18" x 14"
Low Score
N/A
Lots and Lots of Spots
I was surprised to find how packed this small box was! There was a nice deck of dog cards, plenty of wooden treats, and oodles of custom spotted dice. So nice!
Yet I wasn’t expecting all of the action tiles. Howl and Roll Over are always available, but there are 5 different actions per rosette. That offers a lot of variety right away.
The rules were adorable and straightforward. I still wasn’t expecting a lot, but those dogs! I was immediately smiling.
Each yard had different artwork, too, including a buried dinosaur and remote. So many little details that I loved!
Lounging Around
It seemed like the perfect moment for my Calico Critters Dalmatians to show up… And so they did, in full force!
Up first was a very happy puppy who was quite excited to showcase her copycat ability as she imitated Bitsy. Oh, pardon me. In this world, it’s copydog. I’ll allow it. Ha!
Most of the dog cards weren’t strictly Dalmatians, of course. They were quite diverse, ranging from the cutest ever to almost laugh-out-loud funny.
And again, take a close look at the dice. They’re custom, with slightly imperfect spots to match the artwork. Nice!
Simple Action Selection
My turn was easy: Either choose an action tile to use, or score my completed dogs. Actions happen the most often, of course, but there are many considerations.
Using an action flips it over, so that the same one can’t be utilized over and over again. These will reset, though, but the order of actions can be quite important.
The solo opponent rolls a die to either flip the matching tile, or immediately score a dog. The first to 6 wins!
Treats act as reroll opportunities, and it’s important to try to avoid busting by limiting unplaced dice. That’s it!
Xerxes and Frankie
My starting dogs happened to be Xerxes and Frankie. How adorable are they?! I love how the artwork gives each dog a very distinct personality. Just the greatest.
Note their dice patterns, too. I had some good options in mind, yet my starting die already had 5 spots in my yard. Exceeding 7 spots meant all dice would be discarded.
Although there wasn’t anything overly complex, I found my first turn had more thinking than I expected.
Choosing an action wasn’t always obvious. That risk of busting kept me from wanting to roll tons of dice!
Making the Most of New Game First Impressions
It’s true that I’ve been pleasantly surprised by a lot of my new games lately, which is awesome! But I’ve also reeled in my expectations in a number of different ways. I don’t expect every game to offer something entirely unique and different. It doesn’t need to! Solo games are supposed to be fun, and if that’s what I get, then mission accomplished!
Beyond that, though, I’ve also tried to look at each game without comparing it to others. That’s always hard to do, yet it’s also important to treat lighter games as lightweight games. Was I going to get a sweeping narrative about spotted dogs here? Most likely not. The sort of fun and enjoyment I get from a game is always different.
Most of all, it boils down to the experience. New games are supposed to be great, reminiscent of the days of getting a new toy and trying it out. That’s what I’m trying to capture, and when a game brings me some joy, I don’t mind how light or heavy it is. First impressions should be positive, whenever possible, and I’m leaning into that idea even more!
Matching Dice
It was Xerxes whose numbers were up today! I was very proud when I got those 2 dice to match his requirements.
Normally, dogs are completed on a separate turn, outside of action selection. Only in the rare case when all dogs have matching dice placed do they all score immediately!
Naturally, Frankie was holding things up. Typical, with that obvious napping pose. Ha! So play continued.
This also meant I didn’t take any optional dice rolls from my action. Busting at this point would discard the dice, and I wasn’t about to start all over with Xerxes!
Falling Spotless
The sequence of play was very quick and fun. I picked up new dogs and started to fill in their patterns. But the race to complete 6 dogs was tough against the solo opponent.
Unfortunately, I pushed my luck a little too much and busted a couple of times. That really set me back, and before I knew it, the solo opponent won. Game over!
Interesting, though. Had I played it safer, I might have pulled off a victory. But maybe not… Dice are dice!
I thought it would be too random to have the solo opponent flip over action tiles, yet that was excellent.
A Full Dog Pack
The solo opponent had a wonderful dog pack that defeated me. Even more personality with these silly portraits!
Note that there wasn’t any dice placement on the part of the solo opponent. If an action tile was already flipped, that meant a new dog was automatically completed.
This led me to pause when I planned out my actions. It made more sense to give up actions than completed dogs, whenever possible. Not that I was an expert, of course. Ha!
For those thinking there wasn’t enough species diversity, witness the cats! And I think Doog is definitely a cow…
Spotted and Dotted
So many Dalmatians! They all came out to celebrate my second play, when things went my way and I managed to pull off the victory. Only not with these exact dogs…
It seemed like everyone picked a lookalike. There was the Bitsy card again! Someone had fun with a treat, while there was a lot of concentration over a dice collection.
One dog tried to be stealthy and set out the right action tile to find him… But even Pebble’s card easily spotted him!
Such fun! I believe I need the Calico Critters with me each time I play from now on. They match so well!
Session Overview
Play Number: 1 and 2
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
Play Details: Standard Difficulty Level
Outcome: 1 Win and 1 Loss
My victory happened in the best way possible. I had a pair of buried dice that I rolled with the Roll Over action. Goliath was the last dog to be completed… And I managed a perfect roll for the instant win! This was a very fun session: Very little overall tension, yet still plenty of choices to make each turn interesting. Plus, the dogs! I love them all and still smile at these photos.
%
10 Plays
Affordability
Price & Value
10
Functionality
Challenges & Mechanics
10
Originality
Design & Theme
5
Quality
Components & Rules
10
Reusability
Achievement & Enjoyment
7
Variability
Distinctness & Randomness
7
+ Pros (Positives)
- All of the dogs are unique and feature adorable artwork that adds some personality and humor to each play.
- There are a lot of unique action tiles to mix up during setup for plenty of variety and different combinations.
- It takes a short time to understand the easy set of rules, which are also summarized on the back of the rulebook.
- Play time moves quickly with a simple solo opponent and a fairly limited number of choices during each round.
- Rolling more dice usually risks busting, but there are times when taking a chance could work with extra rerolls.
- Every component is high-quality with lots of fun details, including the custom dice with slightly imperfect pips.
– Cons (Negatives)
- There isn’t normally a way to swap dog cards, so whichever options are drawn must be completed to win.
- As with any dice game, bad luck can lead to a lot of issues even with plenty of treats saved up for rerolls.
- Although minor, the solo rules are only available online and aren’t printed in the rulebook for easy reference.
- Some turns can feel a little wasted when the action tiles don’t quite match up with what’s needed to move ahead.
Victory Conditions
Complete 6 Dog Cards First
- Overall Goal Progress 100%
Goals and Milestones
Win at least 1 game at the standard difficulty level.
Win at least 1 game with the Adoption Event set.
Win at least 1 game with the Dog Park set.
Win at least 1 game with the Puppy Pen set.
Continue the Conversation
Have you had a chance to play Spots at all? What do you think of the artwork and mechanics? I still get surprised by new games, and this is another one! There might not be anything groundbreaking here, yet I don’t think most games need to be. I loved this experience and can’t wait to flip through the adorable dog cards again in all their spotted glory!
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