Game: Dice+

The first game I ever played on an iPad was a free version of Liar's Dice where you shook the device to roll the bones. At first, it was novel. After three goes, it was annoying beyond belief. This demonstrates two things: firstly there's a good reason why most board games stick to digital dice; but second, that there's still an aching desire to physically interact with something when you play a board game. Enter Dice+.It's a little rubbery cube which communicates with a range of mobile devices, including those running iOS and Android via Bluetooth, and takes the place of a physical dice. You roll it, and the number flashes on the uppermost face and is communicated to the game. It's slightly bigger than an average dice, but still rolls comfortably from the hand with a pleasingly tactile and weighty feel.It seems to work a distance from the mobile, so your numbers come up even when Dice+ rolls under the table. However, some anti-cheating technology built into the device means a small proportion of rolls don't register. Annoying, but a small price to pay to stop fraudsters from finding the six face and repeatedly dropping it directly on the table. It's charged via a port revealed when you slide up the one face, and a full charge lasts ages: about 20 rolling hours.