Whether you’re looking to put your faith in the dice and push your luck to collect pyramids, or build some trees and nests out of pyramids in an abstract point-to-point movement game, Ice Duo has you covered! Combining two pyramid games – Ice Dice and Twin Win – into one convenient package, Ice Duo packs a lot to love together! Let’s check it out.
What Is It?
Ice Duo is two 2-player games in one. Ice Dice is the first and is a push-your-luck dice rolling game where players roll to be the first to collect three monochrome sets of pyramids. They can always choose to stop rolling or risk continuing to try and get more pieces. But more rolls makes it more likely that the player will bust, thus losing everything.
The second game, Twin Win, is an abstract pattern building game with point-to-point movement. They take turns moving pyramids around a small board until they complete a tree or nest that they need for their goal. Each player has 2 goal cards, and completing either will give them the victory! Both games are light and have quick and simple rules and gameplay, so they’re great for a wide range of gamers!
Who Is It For?
- Ages 8+
- Fans of push-your-luck and abstract games
- Those who want more light/quick games
- Gamers who have limited space, as these are both small
- Couples who game together
Components + Quality
The pyramids are nice and sturdy. They come in a bunch of nice (translucent) colors, and they just have a really appealing presence. The dice for Ice Dice are simple, get the job done. The Twin Win goal cards are small, but fine since they don’t have much on them. I’d recommend getting small sleeves for them to avoid nicks since they are hidden information. The board for Twin Win is, again, small and simple, but sturdy and lays out what you need to know well. Rules for both games are short and sweet, easy to learn from. Finally, the box is small, but a good size for what’s in it.
PROS
- 2 games in 1
- Small / Easily portable
- Both are light / quick
- Easy to learn + play
- Dual use of pyramids
- Both great for all ages
- Twin Win gives you multiple ways to win & you can change your goal mid game to throw off your opponent
CONS
- Not great storage for the pyramids, they just kinda clack around in the box
- Ice Dice doesn’t offer much choice beyond keep rolling or don’t; can often bust on your 2nd roll in a turn, which is just disappointing
- Twin Win can be difficult if you have a hard time visualizing a step or 2 ahead, because you may not see what your opponent is setting up in time to stop them
Final Thoughts
I thought this was a nice little pair of games! Both were really light and, although pretty different, I enjoyed them both. Ice Dice may not offer a lot of decision making, but it’s fun to just chuck the dice and hope you get a few good rolls together. Twin Win is a bit more “thinky” but still very quick and easy enough to teach to just about anyone. I definitely recommend both of these if you need a small box game that’s short and sweet and you like the mechanics these offer.
My Final Ratings:
Overall Game – 7/10 (Ice Dice – 6/10; Twin Win – 8/10)
Aesthetics – 6/10
Difficulty – Ice Dice – 2/10; Twin Win – 5/10
Replay Value – Ice Dice – 5/10; Twin Win – 7/10
*I was provided a copy of this game to do this review*
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Cuc
Hi Steph,
I found your review of Ice Duo here, too! Great.
So, what perhaps people like to know about the Looney Pyramid System is that you can play other games with it too.
For instance, in the Pyramid Quartet (PQ) series, there is Martian Chess, an intermediate abstract strategy game. That set is a monochrome set (mostly for collectors). However, Martian Chess can be played with 6 trios of ANY color. This means that you can play Martian Chess with ANY set of the Pyramid Quartet. To make up for the missing board, you could make your own 4″ x 8″ board or use half of a Chess board. The PQ rules for Martian Chess can be found here: https://www.looneylabs.com/lit/rules/martian-chess-rules (current: version 5).
It’s fun to have two light games with Ice Duo which can also be used to play a popular intermediate game such as Martian Chess. There are many more games that can be played with any set of Looney Pyramids. For those interested, take a look at https://icehousegames.org/.
Cheers.
[P.S. Your replay value for Twin Win got swallowed by the Letter Gobbler :-).]
Steph
Thanks for checking out the review, and for the tips! I’m definitely interested in using the pyramids for more!