Roll and Move, justifiably, gets a lot of hate from hobby board gamers. Games like Chutes and Ladders are pretty bad with a lack of player agency, as that roll of the dice is the only mechanic in the game. Today, I’m going to list 10 games that use that tired and true mechanic but have other factors that make them enjoyable. I’m going to focus on hobby games, so roll and move classics like Clue won’t be featured.

Embrace the tactics over strategy, let randomness take over, and let’s dive into some fun roll and move games. Did I miss your favorite? Drop a comment about your favorite roll and move games, or why you think they’re all trash.

10. Mice and Mystics

In this game, you play as humans transformed into mice to save a kingdom from evil, battling rats, cockroaches, spiders, and centipedes across the castle and underground caverns. I bought this dungeon crawler because of its cute theme, and several years later, it became one of my son’s favorite games when he was old enough to read. We house ruled out the die rolling for movement, but since it’s part of the rules as written, it’s on the list. Adding randomness to the movement can allow enemies to catch up to the heroes or for them to scurry away to safety, adding tension to the proceedings. Both Mice and Mystics and Stuffed Fables are great narrative dungeon crawlers for families to play with kids.

1-4 Players • Ages 7+ • 60-90 minutes • $79

9. Rogue Seas

Rogue Seas has you playing as a pirate captain plundering merchant vessels, digging up treasure on islands, attacking other players, and upgrading your ships to get to Skull Island to win the game. I did a preview of this game for its crowdfunding campaign and then backed it because it was a hit with my son. In that preview, I discussed the roll and move aspect and likened it to Thunder Road Vendetta. Moving on a hex grid allows those bad rolls to feel more open than moving along a track, opening possibilities to make the best of a bad situation. It’s a straightforward game where you roll different colored dice depending on your upgrades to both move and attack. Getting to upgrade your ship and crew quickly helps this game move along at a good clip, so it doesn’t overstay its welcome.

1-4 Players • Ages 10+ • 40-80 minutes • $69

8. HeroQuest

“The best thing about HeroQuest is rolling to move” so you know this was going to be on the list. Much like Mice and Mystics, this mechanic is often house ruled out for this one-versus-many dungeon crawler. This staple for 90’s kids has recently been reprinted, complete with mistakes. While not a deep game by any stretch of the imagination, this board game introduced many to the hobby as well as to fantasy RPG’s with its toy factor and fantasy adventure as heroes battle monsters (maybe with a broad sword) controlled by the Zargon player.

2-5 Players • Ages 14+ • 90 minutes • $109

7. Kung Fu Panda

A real time game that is reminiscent (or a kiddie clone?) of Project Elite, Kung Fu Panda has you playing as the Furious Five in various scenarios, battling hordes of monsters and the clock, err, sand timer. You need specific action symbols to move, thus its inclusion on this list. This game is craziness in short bursts as everyone frantically rolls dice to move, attack, spawn enemies, and take damage as they go. Another great one for families, especially if you enjoy the IP, that has you quickly adding and removing miniatures as people frantically try to get the successes needed to advance the mission.

2-4 Players • Ages 10+ • 10-30 minutes • $35

6. Magical Athlete

If the artists from School House Rock hung out with Smokey from the movie Friday, you’d get the aesthetic of Magical Athlete. This is a classic roll and move game along a track, except each character has a special ability that interacts with other characters or the board, making this a chaotic mess of three one-lap races as the rules change with each racer. These abilities range from moving whenever someone else rolls a 1, swapping places with another player, skipping rolling and just moving five spaces, or blocking anyone from passing.

2-6vPlayers • Ages 6+ • 30 minutes • $29

5. Last Night on Earth

I could’ve put nearly any Flying Frog Productions game here, with Shadows of Brimstone being a favorite, but I’m going to list Last Night on Earth for its campiness, using photos of people instead of art, and how the rolling to move plays well with the theme. Last Night on Earth takes all the 80’s horror movie tropes and throws them in a blender of randomness. As an example, a card the zombie player can play makes two characters sharing a space lose a turn as they get it on, because it’s their last night on earth (title drop). But the priest character is immune to this effect. One game I played, I rolled poorly, and one of the guys said, “As long as the [Zombie Player] doesn’t have that one card that doubles movement, you’ll be fine.” They played that fast zombie card, and I became a Zombie’s Lunchables.

2-6 Players • Ages 12+ • 90 minutes • $54

4. Rallyman GT (Formula D)

Rallyman uses dice to move in a slightly different manner, where you roll dice hoping to avoid a hazard symbol, and the number you roll depends on what gear you’re in and how many coasting and braking dice you use that turn. You can roll them one at a time, opting to stop when you want or go flat out to save some time at the risk of wiping out. Since it’s a game of getting through the track the fastest, you want to end your turns in higher gears, which feature faster times, but can only use each gear once per turn. And there are speed limitations around some features that will have you hoping for the best as you Thelma and Louise yourself off the track in a blaze of glory to try and save two precious, yet measly, seconds.

1-6 Players • Ages 14+ • 45-60 minutes • $45

3. Deep Sea Adventure

Another push-your-luck game where all the players share an oxygen supply, and it gets consumed at a rate of one plus one for every treasure you’re lugging with you. I’ll guarantee that almost everyone who first plays this will miscalculate how much time it takes to get back to the ship at least once. You’ll curse your bad rolls and your poor life choices made about that low-value junk you’re carrying and snicker (or cackle, depending on your evilness) when you grab useless junk just to screw the other players over on your way back to the ship. Each treasure is worth points, including zero, and you can’t look at them until the end of the game.

2-6 Players • Ages 8+ • 30 minutes • $25

2. Camel Up

There’s something about racing games that makes them go better with dice. The double randomness of the order in which the dice drop out of the pyramid, and the camel’s movements, make this a great betting game. Add in the stacking of camels sharing spaces, and there are a lot of factors to consider, especially as the racing camels and, as a friend called them, the “idiot camels” get all mixed up midrace. Forcing partnerships on a person who picked better than you can help you stay in the game on rounds when you picked poorly. I now understand why Camel Up is so well-regarded as a light game that can be played with almost anyone.

3-8 Players • Ages 8+ • 30-45 minutes • $41

1. Thunder Road Vendetta

When I was in fourth or fifth grade, my parents gave me Thunder Road for my birthday. I have no idea where that game is now, but after lamenting its loss for years, I was thrilled to buy the new version from Restoration Games. You roll your dice and then assign them to your cars, one at a time, moving the number of pips rolled. You can smash cars together or shoot your opponents, and those interactions are where the magic happens. More random rolls leading to crazy combos of things happening, whether it’s hitting a mine and flying off the board, crashing into a mountain, catching fire, or spinning out on an oil slick, there’s almost always something crazy happening each round in this comically gritty Mario Kart.

2-4 Players • Ages 10+ • 45-75 minutes • $59