Is there any reading involved to use Story Dice?

No. Story Dice uses simple pictograms rather than text, making it accessible for pre-readers, toddlers, and language learners.

Does the app have ads, in-app purchases, or social features?

No. It is a paid utility app built without third-party advertising, tracking, public chat, or microtransactions.

Can kids play Story Dice independently?

They can roll the dice on their own, but without a parent, teacher, or partner to listen and participate, the app does not offer built-in games or automated story generation.

How is this different from physical storytelling dice like Rory's Story Cubes?

It operates on the exact same premise, but provides over 200 digital pictograms, customizable dice counts (1–10), and zero risk of losing dice under the sofa.

Story Dice – WISE Score & Parent Review | Screenwise

Story Dice

Name: Screenwise
Author: Screenwise

app2012Education, Games

91%

WISE Score

4.7

App Store

A digital set of pictogram dice that gives kids random visual prompts to spark oral stories, improv skits, or creative writing.

Story Dice

app

4+, 2012, Education, Games

91%

WISE Score

4.7

App Store

A digital set of pictogram dice that gives kids random visual prompts to spark oral stories, improv skits, or creative writing.

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Where to Find

App Store

Google Play

Screenwise Verdict

Story Dice is about as simple as an app gets, and that is its biggest strength. It replaces physical story cubes with a digital set of over 200 pictograms, letting you roll anywhere from 1 to 10 dice at a time to generate instant prompts for creative writing, bedtime stories, or car-trip storytelling games.

Because there are no words to read, pre-k kids can jump right into telling oral stories based on the picture icons, while older kids can use the rolls to outline characters, settings, and plot twists. It doesn't offer built-in mini-games or flashy animations—it's purely a sandbox utility that relies on human imagination to make it move.

Age Fit

Simple enough for a 3-year-old to name icons out loud in a preschool story circle, yet flexible enough to serve as a creative writing prompt generator for middle schoolers and adults.

WISE Breakdown

Wholesome

Promotes collaborative family storytelling, language development, and creative expression without any negative tropes or questionable content.

Imaginative

Pure open-ended creative sandbox tool designed entirely to spark original storytelling, improv, and writing.

Safe

Offline utility app with zero ads, no social features, no unmoderated chat, and no hidden microtransactions.

Enriching

Excellent tool for vocabulary building, narrative synthesis, speech therapy, and creative writing across all age groups.

Parent Info

✓

Why It Might Be Great

Zero reading required, making it just as accessible for pre-readers describing pictures as it is for middle schoolers generating essay seeds.
Sparks instant narrative links with over 200 pictograms that challenge kids to connect wildly different items into one coherent plot.
Perfect for pass-around games in the car or around the dinner table where everyone adds a sentence using the next die on screen.

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What to Watch For

Bare-bones structure with zero built-in mini-games, scoring, or automated prompts; engagement relies entirely on human interaction.
Dated visual presentation that reflects its 2012 release, though the simple iconography remains clean and functional.

Conversation Starters

"How can we connect a pirate ship, an alien, and a slice of pizza into one logical story?"
"If you had to pick three of these dice to describe your weekend, which ones would you choose?"
"What is the weirdest plot twist we can add using the next die roll?"

Deep Dive

Digital prompts for low-tech imagination

In a landscape crowded with apps designed to capture attention through flash and reward loops, Story Dice stands out by doing almost nothing on its own. It is a utility, not a video game. You tap or shake the device, a batch of crisp pictograms rolls onto the screen, and the rest is up to you.

That open-endedness is why educators, speech therapists, and intentional parents keep coming back to simple tools like this. It acts as cognitive starter fluid—giving reluctant writers or imaginative talkers just enough of a constraint to overcome blank-page syndrome.

How to make it work at home

The app shines brightest as a shared family tool rather than something you hand off for solo screen time:

Pass-the-Story: Set the app to 5 dice. The first player uses die #1 to start a story, passes the phone, and the next person has to build on the narrative using die #2.
Character Generator: Roll 3 dice to define a character's job, secret obsession, and flaw before starting a sketch or creative writing project.
The Bedtime Shuffle: Let a toddler pick three dice on screen, and make up a custom bedtime story starring those three objects.

It won't entertain a child who is passive or expecting a traditional game, but as a low-friction prompt engine, it punches well above its weight.

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