- I'm looking into acquiring a new set of sharp-edged, precision dice of the kind I associate with Lou Zocchi. Unfortunately, acquiring a full set of Gamescience dice seems really difficult at the moment. With that in mind, can you recommend alternatives and, if so, vendors from whom I can buy them?
- Most precision dice come un-inked these days. Can you recommend good ways to ink them, preferably ways that a middle-aged man with poor eyesight can undertake?
Thanks!
I keep seeing ads for these. They seem overkill to me, I'll take any old dice, but this project even went so far as to renumber the dice in order to make them more fair:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.kickstarter.com/projects/flyinghorseduck/metal-dice-sets
Might be a while before you get them?
Saw these at Barnes and noble recently. https://www.dragonstrove.com/products/d-d-50th-anniversary-retro-holmes-replica-dice-set?variant=49777246306586
ReplyDeleteI saw those too and don't really like them. A friend of mine did a better job of recreating the Holmes dice for me.
DeleteThe way I painted my hard-edge dice 40 years ago, I used the following: black modeling paint, a fine paint brush, a cap full of paint thinner, and a paper towel. Dip a corner of the towel in the thinner, paint the number with the brush and paint, and wipe away the excess with the towel corner. Another way is wiping the thinner across the surface before gently sticking the brush in the number groove. The paint will flow along the groove without running, and you might not have to do a post-wipe in that case.
ReplyDeleteAgain, this is all from decades-old memories, so take it as you will.
IMO, I've always found Gamescience dice a gimmick. I've found them no different than any other dice. Sure, sharper sides and all, but it really doesn't matter.
ReplyDeleteOver the past ten years or so, I've gotten more metal dice than any other. I like their weight and how they feel. That's just me.
I like Gamescience-style dice mostly for their appearance. The sharp edges appeal to me.
DeleteTry here... https://thresholddiceworks.net
ReplyDeleteThose are beautiful – and expensive, not to mention out of stock, alas ...
DeleteIf you follow him on Facebook he posts when he will be putting restock on the website. They are expensive, but worth it.
Deletehttps://www.facebook.com/Thresholddiceworks/
Never used ink to fill in numbers on my original set. I used a crayon and wiped off excess with a paper towel. Easy.
ReplyDeleteFor times when you just want d6, you could go with casino dice; they're sharper than my late grandmother's tongue, balanced well enough to satisfy the Nevada Gaming Commission, and they have pips instead of numbers the way God intended. (Personally I prefer professional backgammon dice. They're rounded so they roll easier but in all other ways are identical to casino dice, down to the stamped serial numbers.)
ReplyDeleteCut-out chits, obviously.
ReplyDeleteOf course!
DeleteThis is the way.
DeleteIn Dixie cups labelled with magic marker!
DeleteThere are several tutorials on inking Gamescience dice on YouTube. Here is one by Col. Zocchi himself: https://youtu.be/zaDzqYZufIQ?si=zxFJLgh8KplFADLP
ReplyDeleteIf you just want dice with sharp-looking edges and are not particularly hung up on equal distribution of numbers, look for resin dice. They are easy to find, though not cheap, and they usually have sharp edges.
ReplyDeleteIf ordering in UK is not a problem for you, they still have a few dices at https://www.thediceshoponline.com/all-products?brand=34&product_list_dir=asc&product_list_limit=100 , but you will be obliged to buy each dice separately to create your own with the remaining colors.
ReplyDeleteI seem to remember the old sets coming with a crayon? God, it’s been 40-some years now, so maybe I’m wrong? But whether it was a TSR crayon, or Crayolla, it seemed to work well. No?
ReplyDeleteI wore those dice down until they were rounded.
No, some TSR games definitely came with bespoke crayons for a while, it's not your imagination.
DeleteJim Hodges---
DeleteThey did come with a soft wax white crayon, and I still have the Basic Set dice from 1983 I used the crayons on. Good memories, am I right?
My Mentzer Expert set came with a white crayon that I used to mark the numbers. I still ha e those dice!
DeleteYes, a regular crayon works perfectly. You just scribble over each face of the die and wipe off the excess with a tissue.
DeleteThere might be a reason that Lou Zocchi used to recruit his Boy Scouts troop to ink his dice for him! ;-)
ReplyDeleteFor inking I just used a paint pen in a smaller nib size. Any art or craft shop or even supermarkets usually have some. The nib just naturally follows along with the number groove so it's pretty easy.
ReplyDeleteI prefer sharp edge dice myself- i like they don't roll off the table/ book all the time.
This Quebec outfit (so no tariffs) has sharp edges from resin dice and are coloured in:
ReplyDeletehttps://jeuxaz.games/products/kits-de-7-des-polyedriques-en-resine-des-aceres
Also, wooden dice ... because!
https://jeuxaz.games/products/kit-de-des-en-bois-pale
1. Dispel Dice ( https://dispeldice.com ) are all sharp-edged, but expensive. Fanroll ( https://fanrolldice.com/product-category/all_dice/sharp-edge-dice/ ) is mid-range for price on their sharp-edge sets, although sometimes they can be gotten cheaper at places like miniaturemarket.com . I'd also recommend checking out their sharp-edge silicone dice ( https://fanrolldice.com/product-category/all_dice/silicone-dice/ )
ReplyDelete2. Lay a thin cloth or paper towel on a flat surface (can pour some isopropyl alcohol on it for added removal power). Use any acrylic paint in the color of your choice and fill in the number with a paint brush or even your finger. Then wipe that face in a sideways motion on your cloth/towel to remove paint that was outside the number lines.
I've got a lot of reviews of cool dice sets on my YT channel (of those mentioned and many more) if you want see other options : https://www.youtube.com/@dicecrazydude
I have a couple dice that I needed to fill in myself. I got a bit of paint, a little bit of toilet paper, painted the face and gently wiped off the excess. Works well, though I used black paint and it's not quite as readable as I want it. I need to go back and see if white paint works better.
ReplyDeleteUltra fine tipped sharpie will work a treat for inking die numbers.
ReplyDeleteCheck out ZucatiCorp dice on Etsy - they’re acrylic precision dice, made in a number of appealing colors (including “retro”), and start at $6.50 a set for raw dice that you may want to finish a bit before inking. He doesn’t offer as many polished, inked choices, but they’re still very well priced. I’m quite pleased with mine!
ReplyDeleteTrust an old grognarde: I and my friends had ‘em all, as they came out. (And 45 years on, the only roll I truly remember is the one that earned me a 5 on a GameScience d4, because it stood upside down on the little facet….) So I mean no disrespect to Zocchi/GameScience dice. Nor to Chessex, for that matter, or any other artisan/manufacturer.
DeleteExamples that I’ve bought:
(sharp-edged set)
https://www.etsy.com/listing/1785250837/wood-smoke-perfect-plastic-translucent?ref=shop_home_active_6&sts=1&logging_key=e8014d12232c42d68de7db4e734c0cc0e19385fd%3A1785250837
(tumble-polished set)
https://www.etsy.com/listing/852647149/perfect-plastic-celestial-polyhedral?ref=shop_home_active_11&sts=1&logging_key=60e464f9132609f7e98842bcae2cf3e1a92ab7fb%3A852647149
Jim Hodges---
ReplyDeleteGood critique here:
https://stargazersworld.com/2010/08/18/gamescience-dice-review/
As an addendum to my previous post, I went and repainted my dice to use white paint, and as a finishing touch once the paint is dry you can lightly damp a bit of paper towel or toilet paper with isopropyl alcohol and brush it across the dice face to clean it up a bit.
ReplyDeleteJames, you want to buy dice at thediceshoponline.com. They have GOBS of GameScience Dice. I bought 18 of them a couple of years ago and was very pleased with the service and with the dice. Put this in your browser and smoke it:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.thediceshoponline.com/all-products?brand=34&product_list_dir=asc&product_list_limit=100
If sharp edges are what you're looking for, a great many manufacturers are doing them these days; I stock several different brands myself; if you can't find anything else, I'd happily vend something to you directly. Of the ones I stock, the only one with an online retail presence is Fanroll: https://fanrolldice.com/product-category/all_dice/sharp-edge-dice/ . They're on the spendy side, but generally decent quality (though, if I'm honest, they're sliding somewhat under their new management).
ReplyDeleteIf it's the claim to precision that excites you, there's The Dice Lab: https://www.mathartfun.com/thedicelab.com/index.html . Their dice are tumbled, but also crafted in neato ways to try to make them as evenly-balanced as possible. Plus they have some fun oddballs, like their "recast 2d6," that I just love.
I still 'ink' my dice with a fine point sharpie like I have for decades.
ReplyDeleteNo help with where to buy proper dice these days, I have so many already.
These are kind of spendy, but I have a set. If you like metal dice they are right in the pocket of nostalgia and durability. Also the box they come in takes me back. https://forgedgaming.com/products/legacy-of-adventure-dice-set
ReplyDeleteZucati has already been mentioned. They’re great, and there’s also these recently released…
ReplyDeletehttps://blackoakworkshop.com/products/advanced-dice-crayon-polyhedral-dice-set-blue
They’re the same dice being offered by Luke Gygax at Gary Con with slightly different packaging.
...i have a *lot* of dice, all kinds of designs and materials, so it's from hard-earned experience that i note conventional polyhedral plastic with high-contrast digits roll best in actual gameplay...
ReplyDelete...if you're looking for absolute statistical performance, you won't find anything better than dice lab optidice and balance d20s...
https://www.mathartfun.com/thedicelab.com/OptiDice.html
https://www.mathartfun.com/thedicelab.com/BalancedStdPoly.html
(set of seven here)
https://www.mathartfun.com/dSets.html
...if you're looking for a sharp-edged appearance, URwizards liquid core are my current favorites, and they've rolled indistinguishably from dicelab in actual play...
https://urwizards.com/collections/regular-resin/products/urwizards-d-d-starry-liquid-heart-resin-engraved-dice-set
...while i say conventional polyhedral shapes roll best, i do make an exception for roll4intiative's archd4: they're not the prettiest but they're the best-rolling d4s in my experience...
ReplyDeletehttps://role4initiative.com/collections/single-archd4s
I bought four sets of these, which are already inked. I like them, but they are very sharp, as in "borderline cut your hands" sharp.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.etsy.com/listing/1452184444/dnd-dice-sharp-edge-dice-set-for-dnd?ref=yr_purchases
If you do get uninked ones, you can scribble over each face of a die with a crayon and wipe off the excess (outside of the number) with a tissue. Works perfectly for me.
I expect a lining pen, like you use with model kits, would be good at inking dice - you touch the nib to a spot on the top of a number, capillary action pulls the ink into the groove, and you use a Q-tip or similar to wipe off the little teeny bit of ink that stays on the surface.
ReplyDeleteI'll second this suggestion. Whether black or white ink, whichever is appropriate or preferrable, such pens have been a boon for my precision dice.
DeleteI'm appreciating that this post, about dice and just dice and all about dice, has got more comments than any I've seen in ages, and got them quicker too :) Back to the basics!
ReplyDeleteOh those original Low Impact Dice! I still have a pair of 50-year-old 20-siders (what we called 'percentage dice' back in the day) that are practically round now from wear and tear.
ReplyDeleteOur friend Trevor could toss them onto a copy of the Monster Manual sitting on his lap and, lifting his knees just so, rolled them about until he got a number he wanted. Hilarious and magical.
Friend of mine had what looked like a wad of chewed bubble gum, which I was told was once an icosahedron.
DeleteInking dice simple method:
ReplyDelete1. Wash the dice with soap and a toothbrush, then dry it with a towel (it washes an invisible oil or industry liquid that covers the dice).
2. I use a Pigma Micron size 01 to write the number. For Game Science Lab dice, it is the exact size so the pen fit the slot.
If you don't wash it, the ink may disappear after a while.