This guide started as a small explanation for friends and somehow turned into a full guide. Somewhere along the way I realized writing guides is much harder than playing the game. So this is a semi-organized explanation mixed with questionable life advice about dice.
The main goal here is answering the biggest question new players have:
How do you actually reach a million pips without the run collapsing into chaos?
I will try to explain things through a sample run, because theory alone tends to make people fall asleep.
Some deeper explanations will be written in italic, meaning you can safely ignore them if you just want the short version.
Core Principles
Before jumping into runs, we need some rules. Think of these as commandments for surviving Dice A Million.
I – PIPS ARE MONEY
Yes, the title gave it away.
But this point is extremely important.
In many strategy games, players treat economy and power as opposite choices:
- You either invest for later
- Or become stronger now
In Dice A Million, these two things are actually the same.
Anything that increases your hand value early will eventually lead to more pips.
For example:
A card that adds +8 value to every die in your hand might seem expensive.
But if your hand contains five dice, that’s 40 extra pips immediately.
If the card costs less than that, you just made a profit.
II – RELIABILITY OVER QUALITY
Let me try an analogy.
Imagine we play poker with custom decks.
You build a deck filled with strong cards like kings and aces.
Meanwhile, I build a deck that contains nothing but a royal flush.
Your cards are strong.
But I literally cannot lose.
That’s the idea here.
Reliable dice combos beat flashy high-risk setups almost every time.
III – DON’T BUY TRASH
This rule is extremely simple.
If a reward makes your deck worse, skip it.
New players tend to collect too many mediocre dice, which slowly destroys consistency.
A useful question is:
“Would I actually be happy to draw this?”
If the answer is no, skip it.
IV – TAME LUCK
Luck is unavoidable, but the game gives you tools to manipulate it.
Cards like:
- draw
- clone
- choose
allow you to control randomness.
And remember:
This isn’t a game where you must win consistently.
You just need one big hand to start the engine.
V – CASH OUT EARLY
Early pips are extremely valuable.
The goal of the first phase is simple:
Generate a large amount of money at least once.
Once that happens, you can:
- remove bad dice
- buy upgrades
- stabilize the run
Think of early profit as starting a snowball.
VI – SCOUT AHEAD
Always check:
- upcoming bosses
- rewards on the map
- shops
Planning around future fights is often the difference between a winning run and a disaster.
The One and Only Example Run
Let’s walk through a sample run using the green hand.
Red hand is technically easier for beginners, but green hand demonstrates mechanics more clearly.
Starter Pack
Our main goal here is simple:
Make pips immediately.
Dice are usually the safest option.
But sometimes the starter pack contains something interesting.
Suppose we get:
- Jacks
- Foam Die
- Odd of Dice
Odd of Dice seems attractive because it guarantees value early.
But Foam Die increases consistency, which fits perfectly with the Reliability Over Quality principle.
So we pick the Foam Die.
First Fight
The strategy is simple:
Draw until a decent combination appears, then score.
We are not aiming for perfection yet.
The goal is simply building our first pile of pips.
Shop 1
Now we follow the Cash Out Early rule.
If the shop contains something that increases immediate value, we buy it.
For example:
- Oxidie is extremely strong early
- Opening packs can reveal valuable upgrades
If the purchase will pay for itself within a few rounds, it’s usually worth it.
Sometimes removing a basic die is also a great investment.
Deck thinning improves consistency dramatically.
Early Enchantments
Certain enchantments are extremely powerful.
One example is Laconism.
It reduces clutter and increases efficiency.
Unless your deck is extremely specialized, Laconism is usually worth taking.
Shop 2
At this stage we start thinking about deck quality.
Items like:
- Piñata
- Porcelain Figurine
can generate huge bursts of pips if used correctly.
But timing matters.
Use them too early and you waste potential.
Use them too late and the run might end before they matter.
Dice Removal
Removing basic dice becomes increasingly valuable here.
Even removing two or three weak dice can drastically improve the average hand.
This is one of the most underrated strategies in the game.
Mid Run Decisions
At this point you should ask:
“Can my deck produce a big payout soon?”
If yes, spend aggressively.
If not, focus on improving reliability.
Sometimes the correct move is simply skipping rewards and waiting for better options.
Rings and Multipliers
Certain rings provide incredible scaling.
For example:
A ring that multiplies dice that roll 1 can dramatically increase average value.
Even simple dice suddenly become profitable.
Always consider how rings interact with your existing deck.
When Things Go Wrong
Let me be honest.
Runs will fail.
Sometimes you misread a boss mechanic.
Sometimes you accidentally play a Piñata in the wrong hand.
Sometimes you realize too late that you forgot to check the boss ability.
Yes, that definitely never happened to me.
The “Second Run Because I Messed Up” Strategy
At some point during guide writing you will realize you ruined your example run.
The professional solution is starting a second run and pretending everything is under control.
This run may include:
- Vampire Die
- Decimal Die
- extremely questionable decisions
But eventually something magical happens.
Your deck stabilizes.
Your rolls explode.
Your pip counter climbs.
And suddenly you’re approaching the goal.
Dice A Million
The moment when the run finally explodes is extremely satisfying.
Your dice start multiplying value.
Your cards chain together.
And suddenly the pip counter skyrockets.
Then you finally reach it.
One million pips.
Parting Words
If you take anything from this guide, remember three things:
- Pips are money
- Reliability beats flashy combos
- Removing bad dice is incredibly powerful
Everything else is experimentation.
Now it’s your turn.
Go out there and Dice A Million.