Customer Reviews

Rory's Story Cubes

5 star:		(167)
4 star:		(35)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I can't believe no one has reviewed these yet. Rory's Story Cubes are a fantastic toy/educational activity. Roll the dice, and create a story on your own, inspired by the images. Or create a cooperative story, with everyone adding to it. Add competitive elements, time limits, or points for using the most dice in your story. There are no limits to using these dice. The more you use them, play with them, and learn from them, the more ideas you will have for their use. The dice are also very well crafted and are a good size. You can also go to storycubes dot com to read other ideas for how to use the cubes, and to read some stories others have come up with. Kids of all ages can play! Parents, too!

This is one of those games where you say to yourself, "why in the world didn't I think of that?" It is so utterly simple: nine dice with different pictures on each face, create your own story, create your own rules. It is big on creativity yet is small enough to take anywhere. I play this with my nearly five year old, and what is great is that the dice provide just enough structure for kids to roll with (pun intended) without scripting the outcome. I am reminded of Monty Python's "Meaning of Life" when the couple sits down for dinner and is given conversation starters. But Rory's Cubes actually provide a challenge. Kids have to decide what the pictures are going to mean and then link them coherently. And they enjoy seeing what adults do with their rolls. It is a wonderful opportunity to model different narrative techniques. We use these most often when we go out to dinner (hats off to Monty Python) and the kids are impatiently waiting for their food; it is great to be able to take along a tiny game rather than a backpack full of books.

I was tipped off to Rory's Story Cubes from Jenny Williams' June 2010 review on Wired's GeekDad blog (likely the same Jenny Williams who first reviewed this for Amazon). Not long after the blog post, every on-line and brick and mortar outlet that I could find sold out of the game. If you want another very thorough review of the game, it is worth searching for her review.

This is a truly exceptional toy.
My wife and I "found" this at a local bookstore, and were just amazed by the simplicity of this toy/activity cubes. There are nine cubes/dice with a different image on each side. You roll all of them and depending on the nine images that come up, you create your unique story using all of the nine images. There are enough different combinations to keep you and your family occupied for months/years. The box gives other variations of playing this as a multi-player game, where you distribute the dice amongst the players and one player starts a story with the images on the dice he/she has been dealt and the second player continues the story using the dice he/she has been dealt, and so on. Promotes creativity, imagination and story-telling. And, everybody has a fun time too. I think children can start enjoying the game at 3-4 years of age. I can imagine the fun our son will have when he his old enough to play this game. He is not yet one, but my wife and I will enjoy the game with our siblings and friends until then.
This will make a great gift too. You might find it cheaper at your local book/toy store though.

Sheep
Tree
Sad Face

Once there was a tree and a sad boy who got eaten by a sheep.
That was a 4.5 year old boy's first story after rolling 3 dice... his stories have gotten a little more elaborate since then (5 days ago) but not any less amusing.
Good for the imagination and for building verbal skills.. and for a laugh, especially when you've got a group of people (all ages) willing to participate.
Dice are as pictured.. rounded corners and measuring about .75" on all sides. The box is a sturdy cardboard box that opens like a book, with a magnetic flap on the side to keep it closed.

My six year old grandson is very creative. He loves to read books, and he loves illustrating and writing stories, too. We were attracted to the Story Cubes because we needed a fun toy that we could stick in our carry-on bags. We read the directions and practiced with them a bit. Then used the story cubes with my grandson for about an hour to create three or four stories. After that, we were more or less done using the cubes. They work very much as advertised. The symbols on the cubes give players a little flexibility to adjust the story line. For example, a picture of a bee could suggest an icky bug or delicious honey or even hard work. The stories end up being a bit stilted, much like what you might find in a game of Madlibs. You could duplicate a similar experience with cards or spinners or in a number of other ways. I'm afraid I let my expectations rise too high for this product. It's a good product and does what it purports to do.

This gift was a hit with 11, 14 and 15 year old boys. They got into it. Don't know how long it could be played and still be entertaining but it the boys didn't want to quit the night they got it. It would be a good car game for long drives and an occasional game on nights you want to pull them away from video games.

I had seen these cubes in the last issue of Instructor magazine and I knew that my 5th graders would love to use these during creative writing time. It was shipped out quickly and I was very pleased with the overall service. The students did love these cubes and I had them in five different groups and each student in the group got to roll one of the dice. From there they were to write three sentences then give the paper to another student in their group and they would do this until each student had a turn. The stories that they submitted to me I must admit were quite humorous. I plan to order a few more soon that way this could be a center as well. We've done this activity four times already and I've never had the same story twice. I love how creative the students can get and allow their imagination to run wild!

I bought these because I thought they would be great to carry in my purse. I was right. These are a lot of fun for the whole family. We told stories in the round using these a the dinner table last night. I am always looking for small games to carry in my purse for waiting at restaurants or appts. This was a great find. Just 9 dice to carry no pencil or paper needed. They are a quality product in a nice small box. I liked the variety of pictures. I suggest you purchase a set to carry with you.

I got this for my six year old son as a stocking stuffer for Christmas. I'm so glad that I did!! It has been so much fun for both kids and adults to play together. We find that it is a great game to play at dinner or to bring along to restaurant to keep the kids busy while waiting for food. It can be difficult to get my son to sit down and have a conversation, he wants to rush away from the dinner table and go back to playing, but when we pull out the story cubes, he will spend an hour at the table while we all take turns making up wild, crazy, and very funny stories. I highly recommend this item.

Great game! Our 4 year old loves them and has been making up stories since we received them a few days ago.