Design Tip of the Week #23 (How to Make Custom Dice)

Lets get right into it.  What will you need?

For a 16mm D6 (probably the most common die I make) you will need:

• 16mm Blank Dice (you could use ones with pips too, but I buy blank ones)

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=node%3D166220011&field-keywords=blank+dice&rh=n%3A165793011%2Cn%3A166220011%2Ck%3Ablank+dice

• 1/2 inch Hole Punch 

http://www.amazon.com/EK-Tools-Circle-Punch-0-50-Inch/dp/B0090JVDNA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1416284062&sr=8-1&keywords=1%2F2+inch+hole+punch&pebp=1416284209536

• Sticker Paper

http://www.staples.com/Staples-Sticker-Paper/product_490429

• Paper Cutter, or Scissors

The links are only suggestions, you can google these items, or find your own source for them.

Step 1:

Lay out your symbols in a word document (any program will work).  First may a test print on regular printer paper as it is much cheaper if you make a mistake.  You want to look at spacing, quality of the symbols, and size.  Make sure you punch a few out to make sure you aren't overlapping, and that the symbol fills the punched out piece.  You can resize and test again until you get the size and quality you are looking for.  I will often print on the same piece of paper to save cost.

Layout - You want to have several rows on your paper, each with enough symbols for 1-2 dice.  Even if you end up printing more than you need it is ok, you will want to have more later for sending out prototypes.  Here is an example below:

Step 2:

Print on the sticker paper and use your paper cutter or scissors to cut between your rows.  you should now have strips that are ready to punch.

Step 3:

Have your blank dice ready and peel the backing off one strip of your sticker paper.  You will then punch one symbol at a time, placing each symbol on one of the die faces.  While I apply the sticker to the Die, I leave the rest of the strip inside the punch.  It will stick to the punch a little, but should be easy to take off.  I have included a picture below as an example:

Final Results:

As you can see, I left the blank sides blank.  If you want, it would be easy enough to add a blank sticker to them if you are really worried about them being weighted.  Personally I am not that worried for a prototype, but it is easy enough to do.

Anything else?

Nope, it's as easy as that.  I have made custom D8s too.  For those I bought a bag of 100 D8 like those listed above for D6.  The punch I use for D8 is a bit smaller too.  It doesn't have an exact measurement on it, but it is about 8-9 mm.

What's next?

 That's it for this week, next week I am going to talk about the benefits of having custom dice in your game.  Until then, I am Peter, keep designing great games.

More Content...

There is some information about the components I use to make d8s below in the comments.  But here is a picture of what they look like.