We added Shapes D6 and Colors D6 dice to our Board Game Pieces Shop! The Shapes die is 20mm, made of plastic, and has 6 different shapes on it. The Colors die is 18mm, made of wood, and has 6 different colors on it. 17mm meeple included for scale. See https://www.thegamecrafter.com/parts?query=d6%2C%20colors
While I really "love" The Game Crafter's (TGC) approach to Print-On-Demand (POD). There are some aspects which trouble me. And I am NOT the owner of the business... But I've been reaching out to China for some quotes on small runs of custom dice for some of my designs. Now these are SMALL RUNS under 100 dice and have gotten some good responses.
I realize that TGC has "limited" custom dice but it is very costly.
Again I am NOT the owner of TGC ... I'm just sharing my personal opinion of what could be of "better service" to MANY of the Designers using the service.
For 60 dice I am getting a price of $140 USD and they are ALL CUSTOM. That includes shipping as well. This puts the price of the dice at $2.33 per dice. Is this HIGH??? Well for ALL CUSTOM dice, I feel that price to be REASONABLE. We are still in talks because of the color of one "gray" dice which has a color mixing fee (one-time) but costs an EXTRA $45 USD. So we are discussing this particular dice and seeing if we can agree to a more reasonable fee.
But this is much more affordable than TGC's $8.96 USD per custom Acrylic die (for six sides).
Perhaps as a FUTURE "direction" maybe TGC can establish "relationships" with a Chinese Manufacturer to MAKE "Custom 16mm D6s" at a more affordable price point. From $2.33 USD per dice leaves a margin for maybe a load of 100 custom dice that could be "warehoused" (in a small box).
I'm just THINKING on HOW to offer a BETTER (more affordable) solution or method for games that REQUIRE "Custom dice". Again these are just some thoughts... I'm positive that some kind of "relationship-building" might offset some of the COSTs and allow for better service to the Game Designers and their games that require Custom 16mm D6s.
Anyone else have some thoughts, comments and/or ideas regarding this topic??? Would be my pleasure to hear what other designers think...
Note #1: It just that in MANY "designs", Custom D6s are a requirement of the design. And in terms of what is available currently at about $9 USD per die is expensive if you have 3 or more dice.
This is more of a "musing" than a "this is what should be done"... I'm just trying to see if there could be a LESS "expensive" solution even if that means producing the dice elsewhere and just stocking a limited amount of them...
I know this may be logistically difficult. And I understand the $0.25 pick fee for Bulk Fulfilled Orders ... It just seems so COST PROHIBITIVE at the present time. Like I said, I have one design with one custom face and it would be $9 USD because I am using standard pips on 5 sides and a star on face #6. That is considered FULLY CUSTOM by TGC standards.
So, the colors are black, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple? Wish that black was red :/
blind....
How do these folks perceive the coloured dice?
@questCCG and TGC,
I would really like to see advancement in custom polyhedral die (reduced cost). I have a game idea that would come with d30, d24, d20, d16, d12, d10, d8, d6 and d4, all with custom faces (just numbers). I plan to order blanks of each at some point and make stickers, but it'll probably be a ways out.
Another innovation I would LOVE would be a d6 (really any dice) that has swapable faces. Lego developed a version: http://www.dicecollector.com/THE_DICE_THEME_LEGO.html
I would love this for two big reasons:
-because it would provide the flexibility to tinker with custom dice and adjust just one face to play test without buying a replacement custom die for 1 change. You could just get custom printed plates or blank plates with stickers.
-to create a dice upgrade mechanic in game. You could level up each face individually as you play. I have a couple of game concepts that would benefit from this flexibility.
This particular innovation has been done and used to great effect.
Look at Dice Forge (https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/194594/dice-forge) for exactly that (you level up/upgrade your dice as you play).
Thanks! Glad to see the innovation is not patented. Now, where to get the dice and custom designed plates?
I have a set of about 12 of these "whiteboard d6" for whenever I want to tinker with customizable dice faces:
https://www.eaieducation.com/Product/532536/Magnetic_QuietShape%c2%ae_Fo...
There's also a d10 version available on their website.
Both options are pricey and I wouldn't suggest them for a game design. However, they can definitely be useful for playtesting prototypes. If you're concerned about the ink wiping off during play, a sheet of clear, flexible plastic that can be added and removed by hand on each face may be useful.
They have large dry erase six-sided dice at dollar tree if you just want one or a few. I literally saw them in the education section last night.
I think I am going to go the bricklink route for now. The dice are about a quarter a piece and I can buy hundreds of panels for dirt cheap.
Hmm ... I agree with Adam. Those dice look fantastic! I wonder how they get the personalized, who produces the TILES to connect them to the cube?!
I've seen examples of different kinds of icons on the faces of those TILES. I guess you would need a Chinese manufacturer to produce CUSTOM ones.
But it's probably PATENTED by Lego... And you can't use them commercially.
TBH I think this is a moot point, I'm positive there must be some legal precedent to using them commercially. Why? I think there would be a lot more than just Lego toys using them.
But I could be wrong... It just seems like Lego had a patent on their bricks and would be surprised if you could just MAKE CLONES of those dice for any other game.
From a prototyping perspective they are USELESS. You need to make those TILES... And that kind of specialize tile in low quantities cannot be made just anywhere...!
Share your thoughts on the legal aspect... Cheers!
It was NOT Lego. It was a CUBE with one circle (connector) in the middle of each FACE of the die. And you could put tiles with one connector in the middle of the backside into the die. As such it too was fully customizable.
Wish I knew how to search for it... Don't think I remember where I saw that cool die. Should have taken more note of it ... Because honestly it is something that was really original.
Again the difference between Lego and this dice, was ONLY one connector in the middle of each side.
I'll try to Google for it a bit. Maybe I come up with a hit or maybe not. I'll try taking a look for it tomorrow. I'll post my results back if I do manage to get some results.
Cheers!
For prototyping, I use sharpies on blank dice. Rubbing alcohol takes off the sharpie for easy edits. I am at a loss when it comes to a small production run or a good looking set of prototypes, and am tabling the idea temporarily.
Of dice ... So far the price is about $3.00 per die. I know this may seem expensive, but truth be told it is for PROTOTYPES and REVIEWER copies. The dice that I am using for this game are CUSTOM D6s. So three (3) dice per player multiplied by let's say 20 or so prototypes/copies. So that's about sixty (60) dice in total.
That per die price includes air shipping to my home via DHL too. So it's not unreasonable at all... I know when you say "$3 bucks per die... are you crazy?!?!" But they are CUSTOM, so the number of pips on the dice are different from a normal D6 die.
I am still in discussion with regards to these dice. I'll let you know the final price-tag for these custom D6s...
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