The Dark Dice

These shows don't get second seasons. Stop setting up for second seasons.

This is an interesting concept that, once again, fails in an attempt to set up a twist reveal for a second season that will never come.
Midnight Museum, Home School, Lead Day, and now The Dark Dice. These all were interesting shows that stumbled at the finish line by introducing a plot hook cliffhanger for a continuation, when, instead, they just need to focus on telling a complete, compelling story.
In setting up for the future, this fails to satisfy the present. No character gets a compete arc. No character changes. Don remains Don, set on winning for money. Pie remains Pie, only in the story because of Mark. I hoped for a deeper examination of Samut's desire for praise and acceptance, but I only played myself in wanting a complex character. I hoped for closure to his friendship with Atom and instead got the opening possibility of a romance with Aom. But GMM pink promises all that will be addressed in a second season, I guess.

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Jumanji meets the complexities of human nature

Jumanji is absolutely one of my favourite movies so imagine my delight when we got another dice/board game themed production, very along the lines of the original plot yet promising more danger and deep fangled insight into the human psyche - of complicated emotions like the guilt of actions, the delight of praise, the need to feel wanted, the threat of jealousy and much more.
We got barely a drop of this.

The Dark Dice, on paper, had a great formula. Eight strangers, some of them familiar, some of them friends, all get stuck in a game after an accidental roll of a dice. They discover that they're playing a game called Djuhety, a game of wits that will grant the winner a wish. They obviously have no choice but to play the first game since they're stuck in a parallel dimension similar to their own and realise that finishing the game is the only way to leave. There's no trust between most of them but they somehow get through it - and you get the sense that this is how the story will move - teamwork, discovering the secrets of the game, complicated emotions causing rifts and betrayals, your usual tropes.

Unfortunately, much like a lot of titles I've watched of a similar genre, it's strikingly clear that there are only two or three leads in this. The eight players is a red herring - the story focuses on its chosen players, and they're not even for the sake of continuity in most cases.
Samut, Aom, Mamay, they're clearly the main characters. Kaen, Mark, Pie, Don and Benz.. they're there to expedite the healing process of these characters.

And for the same reason, the games also work in a way to highlight the stories of the three of them. Which would usually not be a problem.. but I had the hardest time liking any of the characters. Literally any of them. Sure we want growth, but they began the series like they ended it, no real growth.

Besides the fact that no character had any impact on me, the story itself was such a rollercoaster. Exciting sure, but when it dropped, it was a steep drop and it only picked up slowly before engaging in another another steep drop. They chose to focus on three characters, but none of their arcs got a satisfying ending either!! Not a single one. The explanations, the reconciliations, the conclusions, something in each of them left me feeling a little.. bleh. The explanation regarding Samut's backstory involving Atom was used a means to get the audience to sympathize with Mamay. Mamay's reconciliation with Kaen, who she used and manipulated throughout their relationship was brushed aside because she helped him during one of the games. And the conclusion to Aom's story - the story which played a huge role in the latter half of the series - was the worst of the lot. I can't even consider that as something that occurred within the series.

The games themselves were good, I really enjoyed the different types of games and the gameplay involving strategy, trust and (unavoidable) manipulation - but the purpose behind the games was really convoluted.

Overall, depth is not what you want to be looking forward to starting this - it's has it's exciting moments, some decent acting and just kind of okay everything else. I wish all of the characters had equal focus, or atleast the chance to explore their backstories a bit more. But as it stands - this was a good thriller, but just an okay story.

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I understand that they want to keep Prim, but...

I wished I could've written a review on my blog site if it was a minimum 8.0 for me, but too bad, it doesn't meet my expectation.

I started watching this drama with much anticipation because of Prim, and GMMTV non-romance is hard to come by. It's okay that they only focus on Samut, Aom, and Mamay characters, because from their bios, it seems that Gemini, Prim, and Mewnich have more acting experience than the rest of the student cast. I'm okay with open endings in non-romance dramas, too, if they make sense. But not this one. Not even for a supernatural/fantasy genre.

Before ranting over the ending, this is my rating criteria. For any drama/movie/show I completed, I gave a minimum rating of 6.0 to appreciate the hard work of the production team, and to adjust to MDL’s overall score base. From 6.0, this drama has additional scores of:

+ 0.5 for the story, especially the games themselves. For the idea, I think they copied the old movie Jumanji. You'd rather watch that instead.

+ 0.5 for acting/characterization of Gemini/Samut and Prim/Aom. Mewnich is okay, so is her character. For the rest, imo they overacted, for example, their fear when playing the games.

So, the total score is 7.0/10

Now, about the ending. << MAJOR SPOILER >>

I understand that they want to keep Prim as the leading FL if they make a sequel because she's one of the most experienced actresses in the cast list. However, making Aom left stuck in the game AGAIN is just too cruel. She had been stuck for 30 freaking years already! Her poor mom is already old and heartbroken for so long because of her missing daughter. How long will she get stuck in this stupid game?

Besides, making a mysterious player take over Aom's body in the end of the drama is completely illogical, because Samut's wish for the last game is to free everyone who is stuck in the game, and that ALSO includes Aom.

If you say that the game is by nature deceiving, thus disregarding Samut's wish, fine! But if this mysterious player had been stuck in the game, the person should show up in this round, too, like Aom did. The person should also show up in Aom's era when she played the previous round with her friends. But this mysterious player never showed up in this game or previous game, only in the end of the drama for the sake of a possible sequel. Sigh.

With so many cliffhangers GMMTV made for their drama endings, who knows if they will ever make this sequel in my lifetime, lol!

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Could Have Been Epic, But It Wasn’t

Okay, this might sound harsh but I’m a big fan of survival game series, so my expectations were high and this just didn’t deliver. The concept had so much potential, but the low budget execution really dragged it down.

The plot felt rushed but also dragged at times. They did give some backstory to the characters but it was so minimal that everything still felt flat and surface level. There was no real depth or layers to anyone, so it was hard to connect or feel invested. Giving side characters more story and proper build-up would have made a big difference.

ML’s acting also bothered me a bit. Being a “smart and cool student” doesn’t mean you have to be expressionless and stiff the whole time. And the script... yeah, the writing wasn’t great. I actually laughed during the final episode because what was that “capturing their soul” about? Like, pick a lane. Are you doing survival or supernatural? Don’t mix genres when you can’t even nail one properly.

The ending was disappointing too. I don’t get why they hinted at a season 2 when the first one already feels half-baked. If they really wanted to continue, they should’ve at least made season 1 high quality so people would look forward to the next. GMMTV could’ve made this big if they invested more, but they didn’t.

For me, it’s a 6/10 at best. Anything higher and I’ll just assume you’re rating it because you love the cast, not the story.

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It wasn't that bad but it could have been way better. As far as I know, it was supposed to be a "survival horror game" such as Tomodachi Game, Kamisama no Iutoori etc... But these kind of fiction are funny/entertaining (or whatever you want to say) only because player can DIE. And most of the time, your favorite character may not survive. Here we mostly get an happy ending, no-one die. Okay Aom is stuck again but it's only because they want to tease a season 2.

Please GMMTV don't be coward and fckg kill you character. Be BOLD.

Expect that, which disappoint me a lot. Acting were great, music were on top and I loved all the betrayals.

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International fans here

I’ve been watching **“Dark Dice”** every week since the first episode, and it feels strange knowing that next Wednesday there won’t be a new one to look forward to.

The finale, though, felt a bit **rushed and illogical**. The whole part about a random soul entering Aom’s body came out of nowhere, and the “normal life” ending didn’t really explain what happened to the main issues that were brought up earlier — like **Ken’s robot project and scholarship** or **Don’s gambling debt**.

Overall, the ending was **a bit disappointing**. It felt like the story wrapped up too quickly, and with **so few episodes**, there wasn’t enough time to properly explore everything.

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Not perfect but we definitely need more dramas like this

It started off really well. The main characters were strangers who were captured in the game and had to play to escape. The characters, their distrust of each other, the game itself, the music, and the overall atmosphere were all nice, even the colors. The next few episodes weren't as good as the first, but not by much. Episode 7 was my personal favorite, with Aom's backstory and her connection to Pan and Mark. The last episode was great, too, but the ending felt rushed. We never learned what happened to Dom's debt or why Kaen's robot was suddenly intact again. The plot twist of Aom's soul still being trapped in the game and another soul being in her body felt a bit off too. Like sure, if there'd be another season, which I doubt, I'd definitely watch it, but this twist was just... not it. The scene where Atom wakes up also confused me. It overall feels like it needed more episodes.
GMMTV, at least give us a special episode to give this a clear ending!

Overall, it's definitely worth watching. It's a nice change from all the rom-coms and romantic dramas. It's a bit creepy at times, but there are no jump scares. It was quite fun and interesting to watch, even for someone who can't usually handle horror or thriller genres. Don't let the negative things I mentioned deter you; give it a try!

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A Brilliant Dive into Human Flaws

I’ll be honest, I started watching The Dark Dice simply because of 2 artists: Poon & Prim. I’ve followed their work for a while, and when I saw their name attached to this series, I knew I had to check it out.

This is also my first time watching Gemini as a lead actor, and I have to say, I’m absolutely impressed. The chemistry between the cast members, their emotional depth, and the way each character brings a new layer to the story. It’s all incredibly well done. I’m realizing just how talented these young actors are.

As for the story, The Dark Dice completely hooked me from the start. I love series that explore crime, psychology, and the darker corners of human behavior, stories that don’t rely on romance but rather peel back the layers of human self-interest, guilt, and connection. This series does exactly that. It shows how flawed we are as humans, how our choices are driven by our needs and desires, and yet, how at the end of the day, we all seek connection, unless, of course, we’re complete sociopaths.

Every week, I wait eagerly for the new episode. Unless I’m absolutely buried in work, I never miss watching it live. And even then, I often find myself rewatching episodes just to catch every detail, to piece together what’s really going on, it’s that intricate. I’ve even started making notes as I watch, which says a lot about how deeply this show has pulled me in.

It’s been a long time since a series in this genre has held my attention like this. If you’re someone who loves a good crime thriller with psychological depth, The Dark Dice is absolutely worth your time. It’s gripping, thought-provoking, and brilliantly performed.

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did not live up to its potential

it had an aspect of play a game to live which is similar to squid game and those types of dramas but i would have loved it if they had truly leaned into the games side.
instead we have 8 episodes with so many characters that we don't know much abt a weak setup for s2. we see samut solving many of the puzzles but we don't see how or why, like is he super smart or has life experience for him to get the answers so quickly? we just see him quickly solve it with no thought process or explanation. we get to know the backstory of some characters like mamay and kaen but the rest are just placeholders. we don't know anything abt pie and she does not have any characteristic beyond mark being the center of her world.
imo aom was too much of a perfect angel, i would have burned the school down if i was left in a game and lost 30 years of my life, that too because of my best friend.
the ending was extremely weak. its like the writers realized that they have not developed all of the characters equally so they will throw something ambiguous and set up for a s2 that will never happen.
this show needed more episodes, less main characters, more depth and more focus on the games for it to be great

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30 Years Later, She’s Still Playing

The plot is really cool — it’s like a mix of Squid Game and Alice in Borderland, but with its own rules. The games aren’t just random death traps; they’re based on childhood games like Spy Game, Tetris, and Snake and Ladders. It’s that weird mix of something innocent turned dangerous.

What makes it interesting is how different the versions are. In Samut’s time, the games feel more like strategy and luck, not too deadly. But Aom’s version back in 1995? Way more brutal. Her best friend Pan even lost her leg, and they were fighting for their lives. Some games are harmless, but if you end up in a deadly one, it’s either you die or get stuck in that world forever.

Aom’s story hit me the most. She saved her friends but ended up trapped, only to wake up 30 years later. Imagine that — everything’s changed, and the people you saved are now living good lives while your own family is suffering. When Aom finds out that Pan, her best friend, is living comfortably while her mother’s in pain, she decides to take revenge. The twist? She uses Pan’s son, Mark, as her pawn to get back into the game. It’s messed up but also kind of brilliant.

My favorite part was the Snake and Ladder game. That’s where everything falls into place — why Aom suddenly approached Mark, how she planned it all. She’s clever and manipulative, and it shows. Even Samut didn’t expect Benz to defeat her because Aom’s always been the smartest one. But she lost on purpose, just so she could trap Mark in the game. That scene really proved how far she was willing to go for revenge.

The ending though. The person who came back wasn’t even Aom anymore, but another soul in her body. It left me staring at the screen like, what just happened? I’m pretty sure there’ll be a season 2, maybe about finding the real Aom and figuring out who took over her body.

Overall, The Dark Dice Game is such a good watch — it’s smart, dark, and emotional in weird ways.

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Psychological Escape Room Jumanji

It's nice to see teen drama tackle other dramatic instances that can occur other than anything that sexualizes them. Topics such as being a scumbag politician and reckoning with the existential horror of time passing by without you.

A lot of the games are battles of wits and wills between the clever and the devious. At least even the bully kids have some kind of conscience to save Mark and they weren't wrong to expose Mamay for her fraudulent election. She had to make a choice and chose to become the person she was pretending to be. Aom's story is the most tragic, having sacrificed herself to save her friends, she missed out on 30 years of time with her parents, one of whom passed away before she's able to return. The dice was found where Pan left her notes after a decade of searching, so the dice only chose to appear when it wanted to. It also seems to want to collect souls. Sumat is very smart, but in the moment he didn't think to be specific in his wish for the souls to return and poor Aom is trapped again. It's kind of funny that Mark is dating Pie, but he clearly is crushing a bit on Aom too, who turns out to be basically his auntie with her being his mom's childhood bestie. There are plot threads that remain dangling like Don's huge monetary debt and of course Aom's trapped soul by the end with conclusion left open to continuation, but if it never gets another season then it's pretty dark.

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