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Product Reviews |
Using one of our "Jack 'O Lantern" Limited DiceMats(tm), I made this one using the Orcus logo pumpkin stencil from Necromancer Games and sent it to Necromancer's founder Clark Peterson.
http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/9/9902.phtml
"Comped Playtest Review
Written Review
December 3, 2003
by: Patrick Clark
Style: 3 (Average)
Substance: 3 (Average)
A convenient way to keep your dice from running away.
Ah, those early days of playing Champions. Rolling 10-20d6 at a shot, and chasing them all down. Thank goodness the game originally came in a box. The lid made a good rolling tray.Commercial dice-rolling trays aren't terribly uncommon. Wargamers in particular like to have them, especially for large battles. It keeps all those dice in a manageable space.
What makes a DiceMat different from other rolling trays? Mainly the construction. A DiceMat has a chipboard base with a felt top, and painted PVC pipe forming the side walls. A screw at each corner holds it all together, and the screws are covered with felt dots for non-scarring feet. The whole thing is about eight inches square, and just over an inch tall. At that size it takes up no more space than a rule book. And you can set your dice bag in it before sliding it into your backpack, for just a little more space saving.
It's actually a decent-looking bit of construction. It won't win any design awards, true, but it's far from ugly. And you can choose your color, or by spending a bit more get a pattern like tiger stripe or camouflage.
One drawback is the paint used to coat the PVC pipe. I managed to scratch mine within five minutes of taking it out of the package, using only my thumbnail. It's a small scrape, but the white pipe stands out against the dark blue paint. Other than that, it's quite solid and stands up to normal use very well.
The felt-and-chipboard base damps the sound falling dice beautifully. They hit with a soft thunk instead of a hard rattle. So if you're in it for a decibel-based intimidation factor, look elsewhere.
The small size of the DiceMat makes it hard to use for games with multiple die types. In particular, I didn't like using it with D&D. It kept all my dice together, but not separate. Having two or three each of several polyhedrals out meant I spent just as much time sorting them with the DiceMat as I did without. On the other hand, I didn't have to move books and papers to find a stray d8.
The DiceMat is much better suited to games that use lots of the same dice, such as Hero System or Storyteller. When you have 10d10 to roll, a defined landing zone helps a lot. And should you have a high-level Donjon game going, it really helps stop all those d20s from leaving the table."
"Comped Playtest Review
Written Review
December 3, 2003
by: Patrick Clark
Style: 3 (Average)
Substance: 3 (Average)
A convenient way to keep your dice from running away.
Ah, those early days of playing Champions. Rolling 10-20d6 at a shot, and chasing them all down. Thank goodness the game originally came in a box. The lid made a good rolling tray.Commercial dice-rolling trays aren't terribly uncommon. Wargamers in particular like to have them, especially for large battles. It keeps all those dice in a manageable space.
What makes a DiceMat different from other rolling trays? Mainly the construction. A DiceMat has a chipboard base with a felt top, and painted PVC pipe forming the side walls. A screw at each corner holds it all together, and the screws are covered with felt dots for non-scarring feet. The whole thing is about eight inches square, and just over an inch tall. At that size it takes up no more space than a rule book. And you can set your dice bag in it before sliding it into your backpack, for just a little more space saving.
It's actually a decent-looking bit of construction. It won't win any design awards, true, but it's far from ugly. And you can choose your color, or by spending a bit more get a pattern like tiger stripe or camouflage.
One drawback is the paint used to coat the PVC pipe. I managed to scratch mine within five minutes of taking it out of the package, using only my thumbnail. It's a small scrape, but the white pipe stands out against the dark blue paint. Other than that, it's quite solid and stands up to normal use very well.
The felt-and-chipboard base damps the sound falling dice beautifully. They hit with a soft thunk instead of a hard rattle. So if you're in it for a decibel-based intimidation factor, look elsewhere.
The small size of the DiceMat makes it hard to use for games with multiple die types. In particular, I didn't like using it with D&D. It kept all my dice together, but not separate. Having two or three each of several polyhedrals out meant I spent just as much time sorting them with the DiceMat as I did without. On the other hand, I didn't have to move books and papers to find a stray d8.
The DiceMat is much better suited to games that use lots of the same dice, such as Hero System or Storyteller. When you have 10d10 to roll, a defined landing zone helps a lot. And should you have a high-level Donjon game going, it really helps stop all those d20s from leaving the table."
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DiceMat(tm) Copyright 1996-2020, Randy Hancks, Four Horsemen Games, Pale Rider Games.
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