Too Many Bones
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It's three in the morning. Two turns left until the final battle, your character has seven skill dice, and you still don't know which one to roll first. Someone at the table is calculating probabilities. You're just praying.
WHAT IT'S ABOUT
The first RPG where your character is made of dice
Designed by Josh and Adam Carlson and illustrated by Anthony LeTourneau, Too Many Bones was released in 2017 by Chip Theory Games and redefined the concept of dice games. It's not a game with dice: it's a game about dice. Each skill you learn becomes a physical die to add to your personal pool. Each battle asks you to choose which dice to roll, how to spend them, when to take risks. It's a cooperative tactical RPG designed for 1-4 players who want a deep campaign without tons of cards or miniatures.
Choose one of 4-7 heroes (depending on the edition and expansions), each with a unique skill tree represented by dozens of custom dice. You face 8-12 battles on a grid map, make narrative decisions between encounters, accumulate equipment and upgrades. Finally, you reach the final boss. If you win, you've won the campaign. If the party is wiped out, you start over. The system is brutally fair: every defeat is understandable, every victory is hard-earned.
What they say abroad
"Too Many Bones is dense, brutal, and brilliantly designed."
Too Many Bones è denso, brutale e brillantemente progettato.
— Shut Up & Sit Down
A campaign that carries the weight of every choice. Every die you add to the pool changes your character forever. It's not just progression: it's identity.
— FroGames
Too Many Bones
Too Many Bones is designed for solo play as much as for multiplayer. You control one or more heroes, enemy AI works with behavior cards and doesn't require an external automa. The experience is complete: no mechanical loss, in fact many prefer solo for total control over the party and reduced playtimes. One of the best solo-coop games on the market.
FrogScore · FroGames editorial rating · based on rules, international reviews and play sessionsYour arsenal
Four pillars of every campaign
Skill dice pool
Each hero starts with 5 basic dice. During the campaign, you unlock up to 15+, each with unique faces. Your pool is your character: you look at the dice on the table and understand what you can do.
Tactical grid map
Each battle takes place on a 4x4 grid with a neoprene mat. Movement costs dice, positioning matters, the terrain changes. Few cells, huge decisions.
Baddies and henchmen
The final boss has a personal sheet, unique abilities, multiple phases. Normal enemies use AI cards that vary behavior and difficulty. Each encounter feels different.
Encounter and equipment cards
Between battles, you choose whether to explore (event cards with risk/reward), rest (heal but the baddie advances) or train (unlock new dice). Equipment is found, bought, upgraded.
Recommended sleeves 129 cards in 1 size ▼
If you play often, we recommend protecting your cards with transparent sleeves to make them last a long time.
| Size | Quantity |
|---|---|
| 63.5 × 88 mm | 129 |
| Total cards | 129 |
Come si gioca
Video dimostrativo di gameplay.
🎲How to playThe rules in four steps▼
How to play
The flow of a battle round
Each round follows a fixed sequence: initiative, hero actions, enemy reaction, cleanup. The pace is slow and deliberate.
Each hero rolls all of their skill dice. You look at the results, decide which ones to activate immediately and which to save for later. Some dice combine, others exclude each other. Planning is everything.
Spend dice to move, attack, defend, buff allies. Every die used leaves the pool until the next round. Activation order is free, but once spent, you can't go back.
Each enemy type has an AI card that dictates behavior: attack the closest, the most wounded, use a special ability. The baddie has unique rules. Resolve all enemies in order.
Retrieve dice, resolve persistent effects, check victory or defeat conditions. If the party is alive and there are still enemies, the game continues. Otherwise, battle over: loot, heal, narrative decision.
⏱️Your first gameThe chronicle, moment by moment▼
A game in five moments
What happens at the table
Not the rules. The experience.
Setup and hero selection
Open the box, choose your character, read the sheet. Take the 5 basic dice, arrange the map, draw the first encounter. Someone at the table is already calculating which skill to unlock first. The campaign begins.
First battle, first choices
Roll the dice, choose which to activate, move on the grid. Enemies respond according to the AI card. You immediately understand that every die spent is a lost resource for the next turn. The clash ends, you collect loot, decide whether to explore or train.
Mid-campaign, party formed
You are at battle 5 out of 10. You have unlocked 8-10 skill dice, your hero has found an identity. Someone is a tank, someone deals damage, someone controls. Narrative encounters have generated choices: you skipped a rest to chase the baddie, now the party is wounded. Every battle matters more.
Desperate battle
Clash 9. The baddie has set an ambush, the party is surrounded, someone has 2 health points. You roll the dice, do the math: if I use the reroll now, I won't have it later. If the tank dies, we all lose. You win by a hair's breadth. Silence at the table, then shouts.
Final boss
The baddie reveals its phases. Each round changes tactics, the board fills with threats. The party has 12-15 dice each, legendary equipment, well-studied combos. The battle lasts 40 minutes. When the last enemy falls, someone is already thinking about the next campaign with another hero.
🐸Before you know itThree honest things, from friends▼
Before you know it
Three things you need to know
Preparing a battle takes 10-15 minutes: sorting dice for each hero, arranging the map, preparing enemy decks, equipment. At the end of the game, teardown is just as long. If you're looking for pick-up-and-play, this is not the game.
The rulebook is dense, each hero has 15+ skills with complex interactions, enemy AI varies by type. The first 2-3 battles will be slow and full of doubts. After 4-5 total hours it starts to flow, but don't expect immediacy.
Chip Theory uses custom components: waterproof PVC cards, laser-engraved dice, neoprene mats, poker chips for health points. The quality is unmatched, the price reflects it. If you're looking for the best €/hour of gameplay ratio, consider carefully.
🏆Victory and defeatWhat the ending rewards▼
How it ends
How to win and how to lose
Every campaign has one goal: reach the baddie and defeat them. But there are a thousand ways to fail before then.
Victory
- Defeat the final boss of the campaign (baddie's HP to zero)
- At least one hero of the party survives the final battle
- Complete the 8-12 encounters and reach the final confrontation
Defeat
- All heroes of the party are reduced to zero health points in a battle
- The baddie reaches the maximum threat level (too many rests or failed explorations)
- Voluntarily abandon the campaign after a devastating defeat
Too Many Bones is not a game about dice. It's a game where dice are the character, and every campaign leaves a physical story on the table made of choices, risks, and hand-built pools.
💬Frequently asked questionsQuick answers before checkout▼
Frequently asked questions
FAQ about Too Many Bones
How long does a full campaign last?
An 8-12 battle campaign requires 8-12 total hours, spread over 2-4 sessions. Each battle lasts 45-90 minutes depending on party size and experience. The game supports saving between battles: you note HP, unlocked dice, equipment and resume whenever you want.
How many heroes are in the base box?
The base box includes 4 playable heroes (Gearlocs): Boomer, Patches, Picket, and Tantrum. Each has a unique skill tree with 10-15 custom dice, completely different playstyle, and variable builds. Expansions add more heroes, each with its own complexity and tactics.
Does the game scale well from 1 to 4 players?
Yes. The number and strength of enemies automatically adapt to party size. The solo experience is excellent (5/5 rating): you control 1-2 heroes, no mechanical loss. In 3-4 players, downtime increases but cooperation and banter compensate. Many consider 2 players the sweet spot.
What mechanics does Too Many Bones use?
Dice-building (build your skill dice pool during the campaign), tactical grid movement, cooperative game with card-based enemy AI, resource management (each die spent is lost until the next round), narrative choice between battles, tech tree for unlocking skills, campaign/scenario structure.
Is it available in Italian?
No. Too Many Bones is available only in English. Text on cards is present (equipment, encounters, skills) and requires a good understanding of the language. There are no official patches or rulebooks in Italian. Language dependence is high.
The people behind the game
Who invented it, who designed it, who publishes it — and what else they've done.
Too Many Bones is a cooperative dice-builder RPG for 1-4 players, designed by Josh and Adam Carlson and published by Chip Theory Games. Each game lasts 60-120 minutes and is suitable for ages 12 and up. The game uses a unique progression system: each skill you unlock becomes a physical custom die to add to your pool. Campaigns last 8-12 battles on a tactical grid map, with narrative decisions, a final boss, and variable enemy AI. Weight 3.9/5, challenging curve but very high replayability thanks to 4+ heroes with completely different skill trees. Premium production with waterproof PVC cards and laser-engraved dice. Available on FroGames.it.
Too Many Bones
Frequently Asked Questions
The answers you're looking for, no beating around the bush.
📸Do the images match the actual product?
The photos on the website often come from BoardGameGeek and are intended to give you an idea of the game. They may vary slightly from the version you receive. The content declared by the publisher is always binding.
📦Does the content of the box match what is indicated?
We always strive to provide the correct content, but minor variations are possible due to reprints or updates. The information comes directly from the publishers. If you have any questions, please contact us!
⏳How do pre-orders work?
Pre-order the game before release, payment is immediate, and the game is reserved for you. As soon as it arrives, we'll ship it right away! If there are any delays, we'll update you promptly.
🔒Can I trust buying here?
Absolutely! Secure payments, tracked shipments, and a team that loves board games as much as you do. If something goes wrong, we'll do our best to fix it.
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