Disclaimer: This review is a modified version and expanded upon revisit to a review I originally wrote for The Geek Girl Project. It has been edited to include a review of Knot Dice Squared, new photographs, and to include my thoughts after owning the base game for several years.

Launched on Kickstarter in the Spring of 2015 by Matthew O’Malley of Black Oak Games, Knot Dice is not your normal dice game. In fact, Knot Dice is so much more than just a game — it is a collection of games, puzzles, and, in my opinion, a well-crafted conversation piece! It is also a fun toy for fidgeters and doodlers. With the use of specially designed dice, players are able to create and explore different types of Celtic Knotwork. After Black Oak Games’ successful campaign, Knot Dice was officially released in 2016 and a sequel, Knot Dice Squared, came soon after with a new Kickstarter campaign in June of 2018.

Knot Dice comes with 2 booklets, 18 custom d6s (36 in the Deluxe Edition), 8 wooden discs, and if you have the Deluxe Edition, a cloth bag. Within the booklets are seven puzzles and twelve games respectively. The games include Kells, Kells: The Book, Kells: The Abbey, Knot so Fast, Knot so Fast Too, A Celtic Yarn, Osbox, Tri na Coillte, Snakes, Knot the Whole Story, Distance, and Minarets. All of the games require 18 Knot Dice to be played, but a full 36 can be used when adding additional players for some of the games, which makes having the Deluxe Edition well worth it. Many of the games have solitaire options, so I can play these on my own as well as with my game group. There are also games that are specifically for two or three players, but most can be played with up to four (sometimes adding another 18 Knot Dice is required for the extra players, but this will always be explained in the rules for that particular game). Set up for each of these games tends to be very different from the others, but they are all well explained in the Knot Dice Games booklet. The games were developed by eight different designers, which allows for a lot of variety in play style. Since the release of my original review for The Geek Girl Project, my favorites have continued to be Kells: The Abbey and Tri na Coillte (or “through the woods”).

As previously stated, there are seven puzzles included in the Knot Dice box, but, really, there are seven puzzle types considering there are instructions for more than one puzzle of each kind. The seven types are Completion Puzzles 1, Completion Puzzles 2, Transformation Puzzles, Creation Puzzles, Building Puzzles, Wall Puzzle, and Oxvo. My favorite out of these were originally the different building puzzles as I found they pushed me to get a bit more creative as I built my vertical solutions, but I have grown to favor the transformation puzzles as they provide a good mental workout. These puzzles do have a varying degree of difficulty to them depending on the size. Though they only come in 3×3 and 4×4 sizes in the booklet, Ryan and I enjoy creating some quick 2×2 Transformation Puzzles for one another to complete.

Knot Dice Squared adds three new types of dice to Knot Dice, allowing for much more intricate and diverse patterns as well as several new games and puzzles! There are 26 of these new d6s as well as 2 new colors of wooden discs (orange and purple) and new booklets. One of the many things that I absolutely love about this addition (other than having more dice to play with) is that Black Oak Games went back and tweaked the rules for the original games to include these wonderful new dice! Some of the games can now be played with up to six players. Out of the two new games, I’ve really enjoyed the solo game of 4 Get Me Knots because I like the challenge of making sure all of my knots are complete while working within the constraints of diminishing dice pools. Knot Dice Squared also adds new puzzles to the original seven puzzle types while introducing a new type to try: Simultaneous Puzzles. I like that the Simultaneous Puzzles can be done both solo or with others and that, even though they are puzzles, there is still some competition involved. For those who backed the Kickstarter, there was an option to get their copy of Knot Dice Squared in blue, which I feel could add a very different and interesting dynamic to how one makes their knots.

Since these dice are so versatile, it is easy to come up with additional ideas for games or puzzles on your own. They are of good quality and, honestly, quite beautiful. These are dice I would – and do – proudly display on a coffee table or desk while allowing others (or myself) to fidget with them. I feel Black Oak Games has created a fantastic product and I am really glad they have continued to support it with new puzzles, games, and even new dice types! As I have had Knot Dice in my collection for a few years now, I can honestly say that this is a product that stands the test of time. I love exploring my knot-making abilities and just playing with these dice – with or without rules!

All photos of Black Oak Games products were taken and edited by Krista.