Dice Town by French designers Bruno Cathala and Ludovic Maublanc has been voted the Best International Game for 2010 by Boardgames Australia. Dice seemed to be popular this year, with the final roll-off being between Roll through the Ages and  Dice Town, though there were lots of great short-listed games: you can see the full list here.

Dice Town has a lot of give and take between players, and always generates lots of laughter, accusations, and dodgy cowboy impressions.

The players are characters in a Wild West town, and can do all the things you'd expect such as holding up the stage coach, brawling in the saloon, or being elected Sheriff. The aim is to acquire land holdings, gold, and money, all of which are worth points at the end of the game. It doesn't matter whether you come by these things through honest hard work such as mining, an appeal for charity, or just down-right cussedness!

The game play is simple and exciting: every player has 5 poker dice and a cup. Each round the players are trying to build a good 'hand' of dice. The best hand will be awarded land holdings, but nearly every other hand will win some prize: be it the right to shop at the General Store or dig for some gold nuggets at the Mine. Making a good hand is not easy - keeping one die is free, every other die you would like to keep costs a dollar; add to this the need to keep an eye on what all your opponents are doing, so that you can secure the prize you are after. This all adds up to a recipe for constant tension and excitement.

As with any game involving dice, there is luck; however there is also plenty of chance for tactics, and for 'reading' your opponents. The rules are short and clear, and the game looks beautiful. It comes with little 'gold nuggets', colourful cards, as well as 5 poker dice and a dice cup for every player.

This game is rattling good fun for 2 to 5 players, lasts just half an hour, and should have everyone hollering!