Board games come in all languages, but have you heard of a new cosy and fun one that helps you to learn restaurant-ready Italian sentences?
Dialox: a Card Game that brings “La Dolce Vita” straight to your table.
One of the things I love the most is finding unexpected games whenever we wander through the halls of a games convention. You never really know what to expect around each corner, like when I found a restaurant table right at the entrance of one of the largest halls at UKGE in May. The best part of this unexpected finding was to realise the table was actually thematically prepared to showcase a new and very peculiar game called “Dialox”.
Emma, the game designer behind the game, was kind enough to show the game to me and let me go away with one of the few Demo copies she had on the day. The game launched on Kickstarter last week, so I thought it would be a good time to share some more details about the game and my first impressions after playing it for a few months. Word of advice: this game is not to be taken with an empty stomach!
What is Dialox?
As you can quickly realise, the game is thematically set in a very lively Italian restaurant. Imagine the clinking glasses of wine, the warm (and loud) chatter, the expressive gestures, the delicious food. Each Player is a customer of this restaurant, but there is a twist: you are an English-speaking tourist, and you know little to no Italian. Would you be able to get your orders and to enjoy a pleasant meal?
Created by Colloqwee, Dialox is designed for English-speaking players who want a fast, social, and hilarious experience with the added bonus of eventually learning a bit of practical Italian. The gameplay revolves around playing cards in a sequence in order to complete a set and score winning points. There are plenty of ways to strategise and increase your chances for additional rewards or, alternatively, to interfere with your opponent’s plans. The language aspects of the game provides a way to increase your score; thus, you can play this very fun card game without it if you do not feel it. However, trying to get the pronunciation right and engage with the language aspects actually makes the game much funnier to play and much more interactive.
As Emma mentioned, “I’ve been teaching languages for 7 years and have always used games in my lessons. I’m a big board gamer as well. There are lots of online resources to practice languages, but I wanted a way that people could have a go at speaking in a more social way together. I started making several language games but found that they were too educational. That’s where the idea for Dialox came from. It’s a card game first, so it can be played without the language and it’s fun; then the learning is passive. Players can then choose how much of the language element they want to have a go at. And as an Italian myself, I loved the fact that the language in this game is real, reliable, and full of everyday expressions I actually use.
Emma also mentioned how she tested the game on herself in the early stages of the game development. “I first made a prototype of Dialox in German as I was going on holiday to Germany soon and I didn’t know German, so I wanted to test the concept on myself. I played Dialox with my family on the plane and on holiday a few times to learn the phrases and managed to get by in restaurants, so I was happy about that. But then one evening it was quite late, and we were trying to find a restaurant, and we went into one, and I remembered one of my cards had ‘what time do you close?’ on it, but I tried to be a bit more ambitious and change it to ‘what time does the kitchen close?’. I think I ended up asking them something like ‘do you have a kitchen?’ And they were quite confused 😅”
Let me get my order: components and gameplay.
One of the best aspects you immediately notice in Dialox is its portability. The game fits in a very small box and can be taken with you on holidays or on a trip. Within the box, you essentially have the rulebook and tons of cards you will need for your games. Playing Dialox does not require a lot of space, reinforcing the fact that you can play the game everywhere.
Dialox is also intentionally designed to be easy to learn. You can explain the rules in under two minutes, making it perfect for casual players, families, or anyone who wants a quick game that still feels fresh and interactive. The overall aim is to draw and play cards to create sets and earn points. Each card represents a piece of a dialogue you can have with the chef and waiters, and they show a number corresponding to when you usually can use that sentence during your dining experience (e.g., a “2,” which could be a phrase related to ordering a starter, is used earlier than a “5,” which might be asking for the bill, etc). There are also different variants of each card granting you additional points or forcing you to lose some. Once you think you have a good set, you can lock it and score it. To make the dinner more enjoyable, you have bonus cards, actions to increase your score or sabotage your opponents, and additional events driven by the chef and food critics.
The result is a very fast and chaotic game that requires some luck, a pinch of skill, and a lot of sense of humour. On top of that, each card features an authentic Italian sentence. Once a Player scores a set, they can also “impress the waiters” to score additional points by finding specific Italian words from the dialogues or by saying the dialogue they created in Italian using the very handy pronunciation guideline on the card. The language part of the game is not too present, as Players can just ignore it, but engaging with it makes the game much more fun and exciting. Obviously, I had an advantage, so we decided I would try my best to pronounce the English sentence in a British accent instead of the ones in Italian....
Tidying up the tables, final thoughts on the game
I honestly think Dialox is a very interesting game. It definitely sits in the group of those games that are Ultra-Portable, easy to play, and enjoyable enough to be good companions during your travels and holidays. I have two large drawers of these games, and I love taking some of them with me every time I go somewhere. It is also a tiny little gem for your game nights, as the gameplay is easy to learn and you can play a few games in a short time.
In addition, I think it is worth giving Dialox a try at least to experience something completely different from your usual card game. Disregarding your personal interest in learning Italian in the long run, trying a game that pushes you a bit out of your comfort zone is always very fun, and it makes for a great time at any game night or pub meetup.
Obviously, the game is not designed as a way to fully learn a new language, but to help players passively pick up useful phrases. Dialox focuses on integrating the language into a board game in a very funny way in order to create a nice gaming atmosphere. As someone who grew up in Italy, I can confidently say all the phrases feel right, and they sound very natural, as you would expect to hear in a real Italian restaurant. Essentially, it is not a language textbook, but it can get players to learn a few sentences they can use abroad just by playing a board game and having fun.
Last but not least, currently Dialox is a stand-alone game, but it can also be a great entry point to a new type of board game, as Emma mentioned later in our chat. “I’m starting my business called Colloqwee where I hope to make language learning more fun for people and help people discover language and actually have a go without feeling embarrassed about making mistakes. I’ve got prototypes of Dialox in Spanish, French, and Portuguese, and I’ve also got other game ideas I’m working on. I’m hoping that the Kickstarter will help me properly start my business. I’ve already had quite a few people say they’d be interested in the game in a different language, so I’d love to get those versions out as soon as I can after this campaign.”
I love how Emma fully embraced her culinary settling by planning to have already tons of “seconds”. If you are interested in giving Dialox a try, make sure you visit the Kickstarter page quickly to join all other backers that already committed to this fun new game! “Buon divertimento!” (Have fun!)
