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Enlarge ImageVideo screenshot by Anthony Domanico/CNET
The love of gamers for dice can be hard to explain. People were making 20-sided dice more than 2,000 years ago and today that iconic d20 shape turns up in mugs and cake pans and everything from doormats to soap. Sure, you need to have dice for some games, and you need many-sided dice for role-playing games in particular.
But do you need a jumbo-sized, 3D-printed 20-sided die equipped with electronics and a sound board that calls out your dice rolls? If your heart says yes, we understand.
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This particular d20 could add insult to injury by quipping, “You rolled a 1. Good day, sir!” But it will also cheer you on when you do well, with remarks like, “You rolled a 19. Impressive!” to virtually pat you on the back when you get those critical hits.
The 3D-printing project was created by Phillip Burgess, a creative engineer at Adafruit Industries. Phillip posted a video of his creation in action on the Adafruit YouTube channel, and posted instructions on how he built the d20 on the Adafruit Learning System page so all you geeky makers out there can build one of these things for yourself.
Phillip notes in the tutorial that “with electronics inside it won’t be 100 percent perfectly random or balanced,” so you probably won’t want to replace your non-talking dice just yet.
But, if you’re looking to have a bit of futuristic fun at your next gaming event, and don’t mind getting your hands dirty with a 3D printer and electronics, the talking, 3D-printed d20 could be a fun project to take on.
