Button Men (1999)

About this game

This game gained a quick following after one of the major gaming conventions of 1999. It features several characters, represented on actual stickpin buttons, that each have a unique allowance of polyhedral dice. These dice endow each character with fairly unique combat abilities. Players roll the dice against each other and take their opponents' dice as casualties. The object of the game is take out the most die 'sides' during the combat. It's quite simple, quite inventive, and deeper than it would seem at first.

Does it fit your group?

• Group size. Strictly 2 players — no more, no fewer.
• Rules load. At 1.5/5 this is a light game — explain it in a few minutes, good for a table that has not played much.
• Age. The publisher suggests 10 and up. That rates the rules rather than the artwork, so judge the box yourself for younger players.