Importing Customized Game Dices: A Buyer’s Guide to Gaming Experiences

Game is one of the essential tools people use to prevent boredom, generate fun and relax their brain. Most times, people play games to foster good relationships and togetherness among family and friends, while others use it as a source of funds through gambling.

Out of countless tabletop games adding excitement, game dice are outstanding. Apart from the standard dice that are generally available to the public, game dice can be customized for personal use. For that reason, custom game dice offer a unique opportunity for players to personalize their gaming experience.

This article will explore various aspects of custom game dice, including how to customize a game dice, materials, shapes, sizes, and other creative ideas to enhance your gaming sessions.

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Custom Dice Materials

The most important thing to consider when making your custom dice is the material you want to use. Custom dice can be crafted from a wide range of materials, each offering its distinct characteristics. Below is a list of materials to consider:

A.Tradition Materials

These sets of materials have been common dice-making materials for centuries. Before the discovery of other materials, they were commonly used by manufacturing companies and came in different shapes and sizes. These include plastic, wood, and metal materials.

Plastic material: Plastic is one of the most common dice materials available, and it’s mostly made from plastic materials that are potent, heat stable, and easily adaptable to different colors. Some plastics are thermoset plastic, cellulose-based plastics, polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), and others.
Wood Material: Wood material is another common material for making dice. It offers a natural and organic look that is aesthetic and visually appealing. The most common woods used are walnut, oak, cherry, elm, purple heart, and others.
Metal Material: Metal materials are generally known for their durability compared to other materials. It’s commonly made with a solid and durable aluminum-zinc alloy. Other elements used for making metal dice include titanium alloy, cast copper, stainless steel, and others.

B.Acrylic

Acrylic is another common material used for producing custom dice. It’s a transparent plastic material that is visually appealing, stiff, and outstandingly strong. Acrylic fabric is lightweight and relatively inexpensive. It’s also easy to customize it with Sharpies and other makers. One outstanding quality of acrylic material is its enormous range of colors contributing to its aesthetic appearance.

C.Gemstone

The most expensive and luxurious dice of all is gemstone dice. This dice is made from natural gemstones, including amethyst, jade, and obsidian. Also, gemstone dice are ideal for RPGs, especially scenarios like Shadowrun, Pathfinder, DND, Warhammer, Yahtzee, and others. It can also be used for house and office decorations.

D.Resin

Resin is an organic substance that is used for making dice. It looks similar to acrylic, with a slight difference. Typically, resin is a material that is easy to create and mold. You can easily customize resin dice with unique designs and colors for board games like Dungeons and Dragons, Warhammer, and others.

Other materials

Below are other materials you will need while making and customizing your dice apart from the significant materials, including wood, metal, plastic, acrylic, resin, etc.

Dice Mold: Dice mold, also known as dice, is a tool used in making or crafting dice. It’s usually made of a durable material like metal or silicone and contains the desired shape of the dice you want to make. It’s mainly used for liquid materials like resin, plastic, acrylics, etc.
Acrylic Paint: Acrylic paint is a fast-drying and versatile type of water-based paint that consists of pigment particles suspended in an acrylic polymer emulsion. It’s used to color dice pips of different materials, including wood, plastic, resin, etc.
Sharpie markers: Sharpie maker is a permanent maker that can customize dice pips. You can add unique symbols, numbers, or any designs on your dice while using a Sharpie marker, and it’s an alternative to acrylic paint.

How To Customize A Game Dice

Making and customizing game dice varies depending on the materials or tools you want to use. Here, we will give a detailed explanation of how to create and customize wooden and resin game dice:

Wooden Dice

Gather the materials you will need including acrylic paint, thinning paintbrushes, and wooden cubes/blocks, which you can get online or at any local craft store around you.
Ensure you clean off your wooden cubes to remove sawdust or regular dust.
Pick your brushes and start painting the dice.
Add numbers, dots, or any symbols you want to be on the dice.
You can spray sealant on it to prevent flake, chipping, or rubbing away.

Resin Dice

Pick the dice style, shape, or size you want to make because that will determine the mold you will get.
Get your resin but make sure it’s of good quality.
Prepare your mold and wrap packing tape around it to keep the cut edges in place and ensure your mixed resin doesn’t leak out.
Mix the resin and add any color of your choice to it.
Pour the mixed resin into the mold.
After a few hours and you’re sure the resin is solid, you can pull or clip your stem from the end of the die.
Highlight the numbers, symbols, or signs you want to craft on the dice using acrylic paint.
Start using your dice.

Dice Shapes

Beyond the standard six-sided cube, dice come in various shapes, which helps in enhancing the gaming experience and makes dice more impressive and visually appealing. Below are the categories of dice shapes:

Polyhedral

Polyhedral is a mathematical term used to refer to any 3D object with many sides, all polygons. In other words, polyhedral dice is a dice which has multiple faces, all of which are equal in size to each other.

These dice sets are primarily used in role-playing games (RPGs), including DND, Pathfinder, Diablo, Undertale, GURPS, and others. Some of the common shapes include four-sided (D4), eight-sided (D8), ten-sided (D10), twelve-sided (D12), and more.

Non-standard shapes

The phrase “non-standard” is used to portray the unconventionality of the shapes. These dice are not standard but much more fun than common ones. People use them primarily for role-playing games (RPGs) because they add personality to gaming sessions compared to others. These shapes include animals, characters, vehicles, symbols, and chess pieces.

Cubes with unique features

As a result of the introduction and improvement of modern technology, dice with specific features are introduced. These dice include LED dice with LCD, numeric display digital dice, digital screen dice that display results, and so on. These dices improve the gaming experience and can be used for several activities.

Dice Sizes

Apart from the dice as mentioned above shapes and based on individual preferences and game requirements, dice can be categorized into different sizes. Generally, it’s measured in millimeters (mm) from side to side and ranges from 5mm and above. These include standard, more diminutive, and oversized dice.

A.Standard size:

Standard size is the most common size of dice, mostly six-sided (D6). It’s generally 16mm in size, but there are 14-15 millimeters variants. Most importantly, standard game dices can be easily handled and well-balanced when rolling, and their pips are visible compared to smaller ones. Standard size is ideal for most gaming scenarios, including RPG, DND, and other classic games.

cubes with numbers board games and figures for games

B.Oversized

Oversized dice are any 20mm, 25mm, and above. It’s usually solid and chunky. People use it primarily for party or casino games and board games like Farkle, Yahtzee, and Beat. It’s also useful for probability lessons and other math activities, while some people use it for decoration.

C.Smaller size

This set of dice ranges between 5mm,10mm, or 12mm. They’re too small and can be used for games with limited space for rolling. Some people used it for game markers, track points, game units, or card scores. It’s ideal for players that have good eyesight. Mostly, artists used it for crafts or artworks, and decorators used it for decorating.

Specialty Dice

Specialty dice are the most suitable for specific games compared to standard or general dice. These sets of dice are unique and fit into some game categories. Below are examples of them:

A.Warhammer Dice: Warhammer is a popular tabletop wargame that involves two or more players competing against each other with armies of 25 mm-250 mm. Typically, Warhammer and other wargames use six-sided dice (D6), while some rules require a player to use D3. In that case, a player must roll a die and halve the total.

B.Poker Dice: Poker is one of the top gambling-card games that use card suits, while poker dice is explicitly made for poker games and other gambling-themed games. This dice has an engraved case including ace, king, queen, jack, 10, and 9. The game is played with two or more players with five dices.

C.Dungeon Crawl Dice: Dungeon crawl is a role-playing game (RPG) in which heroes navigate a labyrinth passage, battling various monsters, avoiding traps, solving puzzles, etc. This game has specific dice symbols, including rarity, trap, loot, explore or exclamation mark, and others. The logo used in dungeon crawl dice games may vary depending on the game’s mechanics.

D.Storytelling Dice: Storytelling dice are designed mainly to prompt inspired storytelling and imagination. The truth is each dice usually has different images or symbols on its face, representing various story elements. The purpose of these symbols is to spark creativity and encourage the development of unique narratives. These symbols include characters, objects, emotions, and so on.

Dice Accessories

Apart from dice, another essential thing to consider is the accessories used to complement the dies. Typically, these dice accessories serve several purposes, including providing protection and others. Some of these accessories are well-designed and can be customized for personal use. Below are some standard dice accessories:

Dice Bags: Pouches, fabrics, or leather bags used to store or carry dice. You can quickly put this bag into your pocket or take it anywhere without stress. These bags come in different sizes and designs; you can customize them for personal use. The purposes of these bags are to keep your dice organized, protect your dice from damage and house your dice from being lost.
Dice Trays: These are flat containers, usually made of wood, plastic, or leather, used to contain or hold dice from rolling off during gameplay. Apart from keeping the dice roll-off, they also help to keep the game area neat and organized.
Dice Towers: Dice tower is a tool or three-dimensional structure game players use to roll dice somewhat. The players will drop dice into the tower’s top, bouncing through the hidden platform inside before landing at the bottom. The tower mostly comes with different designs and sizes made of wood material with glue, felt, and others.
Dice Cases: Dice cases are containers or boxes designed to store and organize dice sets. They’re mainly divided into segments to keep different types of dice separated and easily accessible.

How To Pack Or Use Dice?

Although most dice are made with durable materials, you’re expected to treat and keep them carefully to ensure they last longer than their lifespan. The truth is, with proper packing and usage, your dice can continue to bring enjoyment to your gaming experiences. Below are steps to pack and use your dice effectively:

Ensure you always place your dice in a bag or pouch.
You can use a dice organizer or storage case if multiple sets of dice need to be separated.
Ensure your dice are packed securely to avoid damage if you need to travel with them.
If you’re using a dice tray, always place the dice inside the tray and give it a gentle shake to roll the dice.

Conclusion

In conclusion, customizing game dice is an exciting and immersive way to elevate the gaming experience. By carefully considering materials, shapes, sizes, and other creative ideas, players can unlock a world of possibilities that will captivate and engage all those around the gaming table.

Moreover, whether adding a touch of elegance with gemstone dice or immersing themselves in a specific game’s theme with specialized sets, custom game dice offer a gateway to personalization and creativity, so embrace the dice and let your imagination roll forth in custom game dice.