Dice game

Check the faces before anything else

The faces are the game. Most sets pair an action die (kiss, massage, tease, undress) with a body-part die, and each roll gives you a combination. Kamasutra dice work differently. They show a position as a small drawing, so nobody has to read an instruction aloud, and picture dice don't care what language you speak. Themed sets narrow things down. Kheper Games makes an oral dice game, for example, which is more focused than a general action set.

Our tip: if one of you is shy, start with action dice. Kisses and massages are easy to say yes to, and positions can come later.

Who the set was made for

A lot of standard sex dice quietly assume a man and a woman. Diablo Picante by Diverty Sex has posture dice in separate LGBT versions for boys and for girls, so same-sex couples get faces that actually fit them. Glance at the product name before you buy. It saves a slightly awkward first roll.

Timers, glow and what else is in the box

An hourglass sounds like a gimmick. It isn't. It sets how long each turn lasts, keeps the pace even and stops one player from rushing or stretching a round. If your evenings tend to drift, pick a set that includes one.

Glow-in-the-dark dice charge from ordinary light and stay readable once the lamp is off, which is the whole point when you play in bed. Glass dice are heavier and look lovely on a bedside table, but roll them on the duvet rather than a tiled floor. Some Secretplay kits add lace accessories, which turns a pair of dice into a small gift set.

The worry that matters less than you think

People often hold back because they fear the dice will push them into something they don't want. They won't. The dice suggest, you decide. Agree before the first roll that either of you can re-roll or skip a face without explaining why, and the tension disappears. Many couples end up inventing their own house rules anyway, such as a bonus roll or a swap.

Dice make a short, light warm-up. When you want more structure, the games for couples run for a whole evening, our foreplay games stay playful and slow, and there is a party game for a group of friends. Everything else sits in the main adult games section.