The Story
Long before Roo Island was discovered, long even before flash games were available for the amusement (and, of course, profit) of Neopians, there was Dice-a-Roo. Along with Gormball, Scorchio Slots and the long gone Lenny Trivia, this game was one of the main attractions in Neopia.
As we can find in the Neopedia, Dice-a-Roo was introduced to a very bored King Roo by a mysterious cloaked Blumaroo. And from that day on, the king never saw a single day of boredom. Today, Dice-a-Roo might seem an odd choice for entertainment, let alone profit. But with enough disposition and a little training, youll become addicted in no time.
The Basics
For only 5 NPs a game, Dice-a-Roo might be expensive only on the patience department. But if you keep your thoughts on the jackpot, the x10 bonus and a fresh new avatar for your collection, your angry thoughts are guaranteed to fade away.
As we learn from Neopedia, the game officially consists of five different colored dice: red, blue, green, yellow and silver. The player should roll one at the time, switching only when rolling the Level Up face. Each die has six faces but (a lot) more than six possible results. Sometimes, you might roll a Lose but manage to survive or a Level Up but be stuck in the same die.
In theory, the goal of Dice-a-Roo is to reach the silver die and aim for the jackpot. But as well see, theres a lot more to this game than just rolling for the big (and rare) bucks.
You can play Dice-a-Roo every day for quite a long of time until your pet gets bored. Chances are if you cant refresh your game automatically, youll be bored long before he does. For me, it usually takes a couple of hours refreshing every 5 seconds. To have an idea, if I start the Wheel of Monotony and DaR at the same time, the wheel stops spinning and Dice-a-Roo is still up and running. So be prepared for a long ride.
But, at any time during the game, you can collect the NPs on your tally and leave.
Before you Start
Before starting the game, its a good thing to keep your Quick Stock open on a different window (or tab) and a couple of cheap items in your inventory (rotten sandals and pieces of omelette will do just fine).
If your browser allows you to auto-reload, do it every 5 seconds, but make sure to keep an eye on the game. Your browser should just save you the clicking and speed things up, not play the game for you. Because as soon as you start getting items, all that refreshing might trigger random events and take them from you just as quickly as you got them.
A good way to Dice-a-Roo is to play a flash game while at it. Faerie Bubbles is an excellent choice, since it uses a small window that allows you to see whats going on in the background.
Whenever the big event box shows up, stop everything, head straight to your Quick Stock and send the new item to your SDB. But remember to keep the other items in the inventory.
When you start getting lucky in the Neopoints department, it might be very tempting to collect them and leave, but my advice (pretty much the same youll read at every DaR guide) is never to quit. The amount of NPs is always very small, and you can cover for that with pretty much any flash game no matter how bad you are at them. The items gained here always cover up for the expenses.
Rolling On!
As you might remember, there are five dice in this game. Each one has similar possible results, one or two new faces appearing each time you switch dice. The difference is, at every new die, the prizes are a little higher and so are the stakes.
1 | Red Dice-a-Roo
Interestingly, the first dice is also one of the hardest to get through. Its very common to lose the game on your first roll, especially when the jackpot is low. When that happens, instead of getting mad (especially if its the fourth time in a row), remember it happens to all of us. All the time. But if that doesnt help, well, it was only five bucks, come on.
The possible results here are:
Tiny Win (1 NP)
Small Win (1-4 NP)
Medium Win (1-6 NP)
Lose Neopoints (1-3 NP)
Level Up? (you might or might not move to the next die)
Lose (or Phew! Nearly)
2 | Blue Dice-a-Roo
Similar results but prizes and stakes a little higher. Its not very common to stay in the blue for too long. Whether you lose or move on to the green. The possible results here are:
Nothing!
Tiny Win (1 NP)
Small Win (1-4 NP)
Medium Win (2-6 NP)
Big Win! (3-8 NP)
Level Up?
Lose Neopoints (1-8 NP)
Small Lose (1-4 NP)
Medium Lose (2-6 NP)
Big Lose (3-8 NP)
Lose (or Phew! Nearly)
3 | Green Dice-a-Roo
This is where your game really starts. Here, you get the chance to roll the Food! face and win the fresh food items that will cover most, if not all, of your gambling expenses. If you havent already, now is the time to leave your Quick Stock open and ready for some action. As an example, my average in a day is rolling between 4-15 items playing, of course, until my pet is bored out of his poor little mind. Just treat them a nice raspberry milkshake afterwards and its like nothing happened 🙂
The possible results here are:
Nothing!
Mystic Wind (same as Nothing!, but with added drama)
Tiny Win (1 NP)
Small Win (1-6 NP)
Medium Win (4-9 NP)
Big Win! (3-12 NP)
Super Win! (3-12 NP)
Food!
Level Up?
Lose Neopoints (2-7 NP)
Small Lose (1-6 NP)
Medium Lose (4-9 NP)
Big Lose (3-12 NP)
Cut in Half (very self-explanatory)
Lose (or Phew! Nearly)
4 | Yellow Dice-a-Roo
Really hard to reach, this die is almost as difficult to keep rolling as the red one. But in just a couple of throws, you might get yourself a lottery ticket. If you manage to roll long enough to proceed to the silver dice, you should be very proud of yourself. The possible results here are:
Nothing!
Mystic Wind
Lottery!
Tiny Win (1 NP)
Small Win (1-8 NP)
Medium Win (2-10 NP)
Big Win! (3-14 NP)
Super Win! (6-18 NP)
Food!
Level Up?
Lose Neopoints (2-18 NP)
Small Lose (1-8 NP)
Medium Lose (2-10 NP)
Big Lose (3-14 NP)
Super Lose (6-18 NP)
Cut in Half
Lose (or Phew! Nearly)
5 | Silver Dice-a-Roo
Very rare to reach, this die is where you can win the jackpot, the avatar and all the glory that comes with them. You might have noticed during the game that one of that passing Blumaroos says 101,228 is a lot of Neopoints (or whatever other value you saw there) and you might have wondered what was that all about. Well, that was the current jackpot. And this is where you get the change to take it all home.
Also here, you can win pretty high valued items for a 5 NP game, such as bottled faeries. Well, your Quick Stock will be a helping hand at this time, since you have a 1/6 chance of meeting the Pant Devil. And we all know what happens when hes around. So cross your fingers, keep your QS at hand and roll on! If you get lucky here, you might be the next Neopian to flaunt a brand new avatar at the boards. Or even reach the mysterious sixth die.
There is a chance you roll a x10 bonus for the jackpot, which certainly adds some extra fuel to keep rolling. The possible results here are:
Nothing!
Mystic Wind
Lottery!
Tiny Win (1 NP)
Small Win (1-8 NP)
Medium Win (11-15 NP)
Big Win! (7-15 NP)
Super Win! (7-15 NP)
Food!
10x Bonus
JACKPOT!
Faerie
Level Up?
Lose Neopoints (2-18 NP)
Small Lose (1-8 NP)
Medium Lose (11-15 NP)
Big Lose (7-15 NP)
Super Lose (7-15 NP)
Cut in Half
Pant Devil Attack!
Lose (or Phew! Nearly)
10x Bonus
* spoiler alert *
6 | The Sixth Die
At his point of the game, you certainly have heard countless times about the sixth die. Whenever that passing Blumaroo tells you its a secret, you probably remember all the fuss about Jelly World and raise an eyebrow.
So, those lucky enough to reach this stage might be wondering what possible prizes await. Well, those who came back to report say there is a button to reach the sixth die. And they have clicked. But as you might remember, the Neopedia article was very clear stating that King Roo got five and only five dice from the cloaked Blumaroo.
So, when clicking the so awaited silver Proceed? button, our fellow gamers found in front of them Well. If that was really a die, someone must have painted it transparent, if you know what I mean. And a transparent die, I must say, would be a pretty difficult one to roll, now wouldnt it?
So the ever-so-mysterious sixth dice is, so far, nothing more than a very non-funny way to say your games over. But with all that food and faeries hanging on your SDB right now, you wouldnt really think all was lost, would you?
*spoiler alert over, you can now proceed *
So, now that you know the basics to one of the oldest Neopian games, give it a try: take your pets to play Dice-a-Roo for a couple of days. Im pretty sure not only youll enjoy your time but they will also thank you for the wonderful foodies you get. Who knows? You might end up with a new avatar and even a shiny new trophy on your lookup. So good luck 🙂