Dice Racket
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A die that's never enough. A lie that knocks you out. A match that ends on the third true point.
What it's about
A two-player duel, between bluffing and growing dice
Matt Calkins — author of Sekigahara and Charioteer — signs his first dice game. And he does it in his own way: no blind luck, but three abilities to power up (hitting, agility, stamina), each represented by a die that grows from d4 up to the deadly d12.
Every hand is a sequence of bluffs before the point: you both declare what you can do, you both decide how much to raise. Then the dice are rolled — and whoever dared the most, if they dared well, wins. "False bid" tokens allow you to openly lie — if your opponent doesn't expose the lie, the point is yours for free.
Two games on a single board: Squash Dice on the first side — slower, more strategic, ideal for learning. Tennis Dice on the other — faster, with extra rules for those who want to pick up the pace.
What makes Racket Dice different
In Liar's Dice you can lie without knowing it. In Poker you can bluff without certainty. In Racket Dice, when you make a false bid, you are truly lying — and the other player knows it.
The secret of Racket Dice in one line
A d4 becomes a d6, then a d8, then a d10, up to a d12. Every promotion costs a sacrifice. Every sacrifice shifts the match. This is where a dice game stops being just luck.
From the game experience
Racket Dice
FrogScore · FroGames editorial rating · based on rules and designer notesYour arsenal
What you control in each match
Hitting · the shot
The winning shot die. Whoever specializes in it wins more hands by force — each promotion is an added threat.
Agility · the agility
Accumulate energy for key moments. Those who specialize in agility arrive at important points with more chips on the table.
Stamina · the endurance
Long points, high numbers. Those who specialize in endurance win rallies where no one wants to give in — and take a lot for just one point.
False Bid Token
The card that changes everything. You can declare a value you don't have — if your opponent doesn't unmask you, the point is yours for free.
Thirty minutes, two players, one set of dice. And then a second rematch — because the first match is never enough.
🎲ComponentsOfficial GMT Games content
📖RulebookOfficial GMT Games page
A game in five moments
What happens at the table
Not the rules. The experience.
The dice are small. For now.
One on the squash side, one on the tennis side. You decide to start with squash. Three d4s each — four faces, numbers from 1 to 4. You wonder how you can win a match with such small dice. The game is already telling you the answer: you have to make them grow.
The first bluff
You declare a sum. Your opponent raises. You raise again. He accepts. You roll. You lost the hand, but you understood something important: his stamina is already d8, yours is stuck at d4. You can no longer play as before.
The sacrifice
You decide to promote your hitting die from d6 to d8. It costs energy, it costs a hand, but now your numbers go up. The problem is that the other player now knows — and is already planning how to make you pay for the temporary lack of points.
The impossible lie
You have a d12 behind the screen. Actually no — you have a terrible d6. You play the false bid token. You declare the maximum. You look him in the eye. He hesitates. He believes it. You score the point without rolling. Maybe the match is decided right here — and he'll never know.
Match point
Scoreboard on the tennis side, now. Faster, more ruthless. The dice are big, the tension is at its peak. One last roll. The table remains silent for a moment. Then someone says: "Let's flip it and play squash."
How to play
The flow of each hand
Four quick phases that repeat. You learn in one hand, you master in three games.
Before the point, the stakes are decided. Each player makes an offer by declaring how much they think they can push — without showing their dice. Whoever raises the most forces the other into a choice: accept or withdraw.
You roll the dice for the three abilities — hitting, agility, stamina. The sum (or the single dominant die, depending on the context) determines who wins the hand. The winner collects the stakes.
You can use the win to promote a die (from d4 to d6, from d6 to d8, up to d12) — but it costs a temporary sacrifice. Or you can recover energy spent in previous hands.
Both players recover some lost resources. You start again — with slightly different dice, slightly shifted balances, and the strategic decision you just made still to prove itself.
Why it's different from other dice games
Six design choices that make a difference
Dice that grow during the game
You start with d4s and can go up to d12s. Each promotion costs a sacrifice — perfect timing, huge advantage. A rare mechanism in classic dice games.
False bid: objective lies
It's not "I think I have more" like in poker. It's "I'm lying, clearly, and I hope you don't stop me." A pure test of nerves — and very rare in the dice game landscape.
Three abilities, three styles
Hitting specialist, agility acrobat, or stamina wall: your build guides your style. Each game can be played in a completely different way.
Asymmetry that builds
You don't start asymmetrical — you become it. Your choices move you towards one profile, his towards another. The final clash is always between two different players.
Two games in one box
Squash Dice (slower and more strategic) and Tennis Dice (faster and more direct) share the same two-sided board. A complete kit of possible matches.
Matt Calkins' signature
The author of Sekigahara and Charioteer applies his method to the randomness of dice: interesting decisions, zero filler, tight timing. Every turn feels like a real choice.
How it ends
Two ways to win the match
Each player builds their own style — a specialist in a single ability or balanced among the three. The ways to close the match are different, but the logic is always the same: take risks at the right time.
Victory
- Be the first to reach the required score for the match
- Hitting specialist: close hands quickly with high dice
- Agility specialist: accumulate energy and spend it at the decisive moment
- Stamina specialist: win long rallies where no one gives in
Defeat
- Hasty promotions that you don't repay in time
- A false bid exposed at the worst moment
- Energy spent too early, with no reserves for the end
- An opponent who read your style before you read his
Racket Dice is a thirty-minute duel that you immediately replay — because after the first game you know how you should have played it.
Frequently asked questions
Racket Dice FAQ
Is it a game of luck or strategy?
Both, but skewed towards strategy. The dice decide the outcomes of individual hands, but you choose which dice to roll — and you decide when to promote them, when to lie, when to spend energy. Matt Calkins worked precisely to remove the feeling of depending only on chance that plagues many dice games.
Does it really only work with two players?
Yes, and it is designed that way. It's not a limitation: it's a deliberate design. The tension of false bids and reading your opponent require direct confrontation. It's a pure 2-player game like Sekigahara or Twilight Struggle — just much shorter.
What is the difference between Squash Dice and Tennis Dice?
Squash Dice is the basic, slower and more strategic version — the designer recommends starting here to learn. Tennis Dice is faster and adds some extra rules that increase the pace. Same board, two different sides: it's literally a double game in one box.
When to use false bid tokens?
The designer recommends starting to play without false bids to get comfortable, then introducing them as soon as you feel ready — because they are the heart of the design. Those who ignore them miss the main experience of the game: the psychological tension of pure risk.
Who is the author and what did he design before?
Matt Calkins — Appian CEO, world champion board gamer, and author of Sekigahara (2011), Tin Goose, Charioteer, and Magnet. Racket Dice is his first dice game after explicitly avoiding dice for his early designs — the result is a dice game that maintains the Calkins character: clear decisions, zero fat, compact games.
Is Racket Dice available in Italian?
No, this is the English edition published by GMT Games. The rulebook is 12 pages and the game uses symbology on the dice, so the language barrier is low — but the manual must be read in English.
Racket Dice is a racket sports themed board game for 2 players designed by Matt Calkins and published by GMT Games. Main mechanics: bluffing (betting and bluffing) and management of upgradeable dice — three abilities (hitting, agility, stamina) represented by dice that grow from d4 to d12 during the game. Contains two distinct games on a two-sided board: Squash Dice (basic, more strategic) and Tennis Dice (fast-paced, with extra rules). "False bid" tokens allow objectively false declarations — a rare test of nerves in dice games. English edition, 40 wooden pieces, 32 dice (2 d6 + 30 custom), mounted board 16"×16", player screens, 12-page rulebook. From the same author as Sekigahara, Charioteer, and Tin Goose. Available on FroGames.it.
Dice Racket
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