I don't know about you, but over the last year I've come to appreciate (and deeply miss!) a lot of things that I used to take for granted before. One of those things was playing tabletop games with my friends - in person. I hope very much to be returning to that soon, but in order to help fill in the void left by not being able to gather in my basement, I've taken to playing D&D online.
Apart from physically seeing my friends' smiling faces all in the same room, one of the things I've missed the most about in-person that online gaming can't give me is rolling actual dice. I appreciate that online tools have evolved enough to make the level of online gaming I've enjoyed over the last year possible, but there's just no replacement for clutching that piece of icosahedronal resin in your hands and praying to the Gaming Gods for anything but a '1.'
Which is why, when this new Kickstarter popped up during my news hunt this week, I was really excited:
The prospect of rolling an actual die (an LED smart die, no less - thank you 2021!) and having its roll transferred into the game I'm playing online with friends might be a little frivolous, sure, but there's no denying that it's cool. These dice, called Pizels, are described as, "the coolest dice you’ve ever seen! Full of LEDs, smarts and no larger than regular dice, they can be customized to light up when and how you desire. Incredibly strong, smooth and sharp, they work for several hours at a time, after which you can simply recharge them with the accompanying case. Pixels know which way they roll and can communicate with your phone or tablet via Bluetooth. This means they will work with Roll20, Foundry or any one of your favorite online platforms."
The dice interface with an app on your phone that lets you control the colors of the lights, the pattern of flashing, and tons of other little aesthetic details that will keep any fiddler happy. The dice are slightly heavier than regular dice, because of the electronics and battery contained within.
The dice have bluetooth capability (which is obviously how they connect with your phone and online gaming) and wireless charging. According to the developers, each die has about 5 hours of battery life in it before recharging is necessary. These dice are just plain fun, frankly, and the tech behind them is pretty neat, too!
The price tag for a full set is a little too high of an indulgence for my taste ($199 USD, oof!), but a single die is still something I'm considering. To my tabletop friends out there: how many dice sets do you have and which are your favorites? Bonus points for pictures!