I don't get it

[Harry]

I played a single player match and the only thing I did was rolling the dice. I got confused since this game has a lot of good reviews. Is this really it? Am I missing something? Is the game's appeal just anime girls rolling dice? I need some help here.

[Gamer Prototype mk2]

well most of the appeal is the online mode do to being able to talk to people and make friends and to joke about the true randomness of the dice but the story mode/singleplayer is good for getting the basics down

[Tekkahedron]

There's a surprising amount of strategy in this game that you won't experience in full unless you play against people online.

[Tinkuwu]

The single player is borked because the AI rolls high most of the time. It's best playing with 4 human players.

[𝔸𝕣𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕔 𝟙]

Originally posted by Tekkahedron:

There's a surprising amount of strategy in this game that you won't experience in full unless you play against people online.

Pretty much this. There is strategy. A lot of new players make dumb plays. For instance, using a 1 damage card to ko an opponent. Why? Using dash! for no reason. Again why? There is an element of strategy. RNG still reins supreme but you can try to control ur own destiny through strategy. That said, the game is not for everyone. I personally enjoy the game play. The anime overlay has nothing to do with it. The game is not just about dice. Its about cards and the decisions u make with them. But as others said, ur not going to see that in single player. CPUs are dumb.

[Clarity]

I love this game, I've had it for years and just got into it because one of my friends played it. Now 4 of us are playing everyday. I'm absolutely in love with the art style and the gameplay.. It's very fun. I'm addicted now, I even play without them and am trying to get all achievements. It's my favorite game.

[Razgriz]

play with friends, is one of the most fun games ever made it , LETS ROLL THE DICE

[Shades]

Originally posted by Invictus:

Pretty much this. There is strategy. A lot of new players make dumb plays. For instance, using a 1 damage card to ko an opponent. Why?

Okay, newbie here. What else would you use a one damage card to accomplish? I've figured Dash out, but not this.

[𝔸𝕣𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕔 𝟙]

Originally posted by Shades:

Originally posted by Invictus:

Pretty much this. There is strategy. A lot of new players make dumb plays. For instance, using a 1 damage card to ko an opponent. Why?

Okay, newbie here. What else would you use a one damage card to accomplish? I've figured Dash out, but not this.

Sure thing- chip damage. The reason u don't kill someone with it is because it only helps them. They die, get full hp and no star loss.You literally do them a favor. the card I am talking about is long distance shot. basically any scenario is better than shooting them. They die to someone else or get killed by an encounter panel and lose half their stars.

[hdmai]

Originally posted by Shades:

Originally posted by Invictus:

Pretty much this. There is strategy. A lot of new players make dumb plays. For instance, using a 1 damage card to ko an opponent. Why?

Okay, newbie here. What else would you use a one damage card to accomplish? I've figured Dash out, but not this.

imagine you have a tank character (high defense, low evade) in front of you with 2 hp and you want their stars. but you're likely to only do 1 damage to them and you can only attack them once before they get away

use long distance shot on them to get them to 1hp and then attack them and you'll ko them

[Daxy]

Originally posted by Dread:

I played a single player match and the only thing I did was rolling the dice. I got confused since this game has a lot of good reviews. Is this really it? Am I missing something? Is the game's appeal just anime girls rolling dice? I need some help here.

This is like saying Overwatch is just pointing and clicking at the enemy, without considering team composition, ultimate abilities, combos, flanking routes, etc.

100% Orange Juice has many layers of strategic depths to it, most of which manifest themselves in deck building, in-game card management, and matching character to playstyle (playing a character optimally).

Just as an example, here's an answer to a simple question someone asked in a comment on this thread:

Originally posted by Shades:

Originally posted by Invictus:

Pretty much this. There is strategy. A lot of new players make dumb plays. For instance, using a 1 damage card to ko an opponent. Why?

Okay, newbie here. What else would you use a one damage card to accomplish? I've figured Dash out, but not this.

Let me answer this question to show the strategy behind card selection and management.
There are many many many things you can do with Long-Distance Shot (that 1dmg card). Here's an incomplete list-
Versus mode:

• only KO a player using this card if it's bully that tries to chase you down,and if you wouldn't be able to win a fight normally. Otherwise, never use it to KO as it KOs without star-stealing which is actually good for the player you are KOing.
  
• If playing against a DEF tank character (say Fernet, Tequila, Kyoko...), use it to lower their HP for easy kills. Bonus points if they are at 2HP and you bring them down to 1HP and KO them at that same turn
  
• damage the player in the lead so the second-place can have an easier time KOing them to delay the game and give yourself more time to catch up

Coop mode:

• (M10, Ropochi) - Deplete stacks of boss shields to make your regular battles do more damage.
  
• (Summer Beast) - KO S.Beast from afar after being revived with Forced Revival, without having to battle her and risking letting her evade then possibly heal.
  
• (Haruo, Summer Beast, Ropochi) - Deal damage to a minion to make it easier to KO them on that same turn, or kill a 1HP minion from afar.

So... SHOULD you bring it in your deck?
that depends on a LOT of factors. For example:

• Is your character relying on HP tanking to survive? Don't bring it, it'll be used against you.
  
• Are you playing a 3HP character (Nanako, Peat...)? Don't bring it, it makes you an easier target.
  
• Are you playing a bully character? Consider taking LDS to help you KO enemies more easily.
  
• For Mei, it's an easy card to get rid off so she can get Red&Blue more reliably. (but it can also be used to KO you and make you lose RB. still a good choice imo)
  
• For Suguri46B, her passive lets her use it to deal a 2dmg shot for a cost of 10 stars, which is pretty good.

I hope this helps and explain the depth and strategy that goes into deck building as well as in-game card management (:

[CarThief]

Um, yeah, people kind of already answered that stuff. But yeah, the game is best played online and socially.

So ideally, once you get the basics down, which amounts to...
1> Get norma requirements (10>30>70>120>200 for stars, 1>2>5>7>10>14 or so for wins, maybe, i forget the exact numbers).
(Check your norma and other character info by hovering over your corner-portrait, it'll tell you what you need star/wins wise. Tip: Wins are hard. I suggest sticking to stars, but DO choose wins if you already have the required wins for the next norma, as wins cannot be taken away in any way.)

2> Get to your home ASAP once ready to stop there and level-up.
3> Repeat about 5 times, and win if you're the first to norma on level 5 with 200 stars/14 wins (depends on the norma you picked).

Then hop on online, try out some multiplayer (no need to be intimidated by higher level players, as RNG ultimately rules who wins or loses, player skill can only carry someone so far, but if RNG says no, their fate is still sealed), and just have fun and try to chat a bit.
Feel free to ask questions if something's unclear, most people won't mind answering them in the game. People much rather would have a chatty and curious new player then one who's silently grinding XP/oranges.

Though i'll admit, the game is best played with friends. There's a LOT of silent grindy types on OJ, so it may take some effort to find chatty and fun people, and if you get along well, don't be shy to friend em and play with them more often, the game even shows you what lobby a friend is in with a green star.
(Oh, and don't forget, to chat, press Enter! :P)

Also, co-op is in a bit of a bad state right now, i believe. Lots of silent grinders grinding role XP, and a load of inactivity otherwise. Best to stick to Versus, it's the main attraction of the game anyway, where all the whimsical RNG provides laughs and misery, and you never know who/what you'll face or what'll happen.

---

Oh, a few more tips, perhaps:
-If something seems unexplained, hover the mouse over it for more info. Works on cards (in player's hands and the "used cards log", player portraits, etc.

-You are also able to move by clicking any lit-up tiles when the map darkens and destination tiles light up. Hovering over the destination tile even shows you the path you'd take. Most people prefer this method of moving.

-The used cards log (bottom-right, just above the bottom-right player's portrait) can be hovered over to see what card was used in case it went by too fast. Above the card is also the name of who placed/used it. No name means the game placed/used it.

-When it's your turn, at any time, you can click and hold LMB to move the camera around. On that note, you can zoom out too. It helps.

-Right-clicking when hovering the mouse over a player portrait (which shows their player card, hyper, etc) will, if that player unit has multiple hyper cards, swap between hyper cards.

-Tip: Avoid KOing people if it causes them to lose no stars. Doing that essentially is doing them a favour. If you can KO yourself without losing stars, then consider doing it as it's a slow but free "heal".

-Tip: One of the best ways to win is to spend little to nothing on cards, ironically. And only to spend stars on cards if you get a clear profit in return (like KOing someone in battle) or if it helps you protect your stars.
(On that note... Green star on card cost means 1 star. Yellow star is 10 star. So a card with 2 yellow stars costs 20 stars. Grey stars mean the cost varies, check the card info.)

-Tip: Oh, and the Card Pack DLC's help a LOT. Prioritize getting those first. Making a deck that suits your character can greatly improve your odds of winning.

-Edit: Oh, and uh, maybe it is a wise idea to do the campaign. To unlock additional characters, and also stages for free (instead of buying the stages in the store). If the campaign is too boring, you can steamroll through it on Casual difficulty and still unlock characters/stages. Also, holding Left-Shift and/or Left-CTRL (or both) immensely speeds up the game in singleplayer, making the campaign more bearable.

[Chesmu]

It's a board game, ever played one? There is a board game called chess for example, all you do is moving around some pieces.

[Harry]

Thanks for the answers, everyone. I'm going to try to play again with some friends.

Originally posted by 🐉 Chesmu ☠:

It's a board game, ever played one? There is a board game called chess for example, all you do is moving around some pieces.

Yeah, but chess is pure strategy. This game is mostly RNG (which you can't control).

[Chesmu]

Originally posted by Dread:

This game is mostly RNG (which you can't control).

This is where you are wrong. :)

[CarThief]

I dunno. As someone with... way too much playtime, i can vouch for that RNG can make or break your run.

Granted, if you play your cards correctly, get your hypers (and/or non-hyper cards you need), stock up cards and/or keep your HP high to deal with upcoming issues (like the unwanted Boss tile visit), make a good deck for your character, don't push your luck (and by extension, minimize any risky gambles you take - initiating combat is often a big gamble), and generally take most optimal actions and pathing, your chances to win shoot up HIGH.

But if the RNG says no, the RNG says NO. It will smite you down, like the angry, malevolent, malicious and cruel God it is.
Plenty of games i've made the right decisions in, but RNG still struck me down. It's not a super common occurance, but atleast around half of it is ultimately in RNG's hands, the other half skill.