Playing Dice Masters Online brings with it some unique challenges that you would not encounter in the face-to-face play environment so there are some expectations & etiquette that players need to consider and be mindful of when playing to make it as smooth an experience as possible.
Here are some examples of what’s expected of you, and what you can expect from others…
The Community ‘Code of Conduct’
There is a Community Code of Conduct that was developed by online Tournament organisers. Players are asked to abide by when playing online.
It’s largely common sense, and no different to what players can expect in terms of Codes of Conduct at their local FLGS.
You can find it here:
Dice Masters Online Player Code of Conduct
Before You Start
There are a few steps you can take before you start the game play that have become standard in Dice Masters Online play. Here are a few things to be familiar with to make it a smooth experience for yourself & your opponent…
Share Your Team
It is considered good practice to share your team list before the game. Even the best quality video capture can make it difficult to read the fine detail of a card’s game-text so it helps everyone out to be able to cast an eye over the cards to see specifically which version/rarity of any given card you are using. It is also useful to be aware of the dice count for each card.
Its common that organised play events online insist on this as a part of the registration process, with a deadline set for the submission of a team list.
The Team Builder Tool on the Dice Coalition website is what you will encounter as the most expected method of sharing teams as it provides players with a link that not only lists cards but also provides card images that can be easily identifiable at a glance. You will certainly see this requested as the Team submission method at online tournaments & organised play events. It is a comprehensive card database with a search function and team builder interface that generates a saved, useable link that lists your team. You can find it here, its definitely a great resource to get familiar with…
The Dice Coalition Team Builder
In more casual online play get togethers a screen shot of a team from the Sidekick App (ios) or Transition Zone App (Android) would be considered perfectly fine. If you’re not familiar with these apps then here is a link to them on the respective stores…
Sidekick App (ios)
Transition Zone (Android)
Otherwise, when you first get together it is common for players to offer to take a few minutes to talk through a team before you start and give the opportunity to get clarification etc. Andy & I will often do a full run through card by card, although the time to do this may not be appropriate at an online organised event with timed rounds.
Play Area Set Up
As a minimum the camera should be placed in a manner that allows for all the game play zones to be visible and with enough space that bag draws and rolls can be made visible on screen.
The most information you can present on screen the better – within reason when considering your set up & environment. If possible then you should endeavour to include the entire play mat in the shot, but it is often understood and accepted that this is not always practically possible.
During Game Play
There are also a handful of things you can do to help out with the online play experience for you and your opponent to make it go smoothly while playing. Here are a couple of habits the regular online play community have adopted that have become the etiquette…
Do Your Dice Stuff on Camera
The online Dice Masters community has proven itself to be an honest, sportsmanlike crowd, but it is always a good idea to do as much as you can “on camera” for the avoidance of all doubt and to mitigate any potential claims of dodgy draws or falsified rolls.
It is specifically important to draw dice from your bag and do your rolls under the camera.
When dice end up rolling off screen it is considered polite to re-roll it in view. It is not uncommon to see seasoned online Dice Masters players use a Dice Tower or a Dice Tray directly under the camera to control where the dice land after rolling. (see “Other Accessories” in the “Equipment & Set Up” section of the guide.)
Commentate a Little
As the game play is going on its often a good idea to talk your way through and commentate a little bit, calling out key actions and being explicit about things like moving on to the next step of your turn.
This is especially important if the internet connection is proving challenging as it can, to some degree, help mitigate when picture clarity makes it difficult to see. we’d suggest talking through what you’ve rolled (energy types, character levels etc), explicitly passing priority/turn, and responding patiently to inquiries or requests for clarification.
Positioning Dice in Your Zones
To further aid clarity and mitigate any image/internet connection problems many online Dice Masters players position their dice in the field more deliberately than they might do face-to-face.
One of the most common practices is to batch dice by level across the Field Zone, like this…
It can also be helpful to highlight whether you are an “up-y” or a “down-y” in the way you use your Used Pile/Transition Zone, as the mat labels may not be clear to the other player on their screen and the Dice in your Used Pile can sometimes prove to be useful information.
When initiating an Attack you could consider lining up the dice in order of descending attack stats from left to right as well to make blocking decisions a little more straight forward and minimise over-repetition of questions like “which one’s the biggest again?”
