Here’s all the dice releated news from August that have caught my eye.
Disclaimer:
This newsletter is impartial, editorial content and is not aimed at commercially advertising products. I don’t receive any payment or free products for any content in this newsletter. Products mentioned here are things I personally find interesting and would like to keep the dice community informed about.
Dice of the Month
I’m gonna go back to some oldies but goldies this month, since I didn’t really purchase anything noteworthy in August. Let’s make this summer sun month — yellow dice don’t get enough love. Here’s a few of my favourite yellow sets.
Role 4 Initiative – Diffusion Honey Lemon 
Role 4 Initiative – Will-o-Wisp 
HD Dice – Milky Yellow 
Little Dragon Corp – Hidden Gem Honey Citrine 
Little Dragon Corp – Hidden Gem Amber 
HD Aurora Lemon Yellow (reinked)
New Releases
New from Chessex
Some more big news from Chessex this month! They dropped two big announcements for upcoming releases — Lab Dice Wave 5 and six new regular Gemini releases.
Some time in October (exact date to be announced), six new Lab Dice sets will hit retail stores. They may be available earlier at some of the upcoming game fairs and conventions with a Chessex presence. The announced colours are:
- Borealis Rose Gold (with Luminary)
- Festive Garden
- Festive Kaleidoscope
- Gemini Plasma Green-Teal (with Luminary)
- Lustrous Alpestris
- Vortex Underworld
In addition to the new Lab Dice, Chessex is also releasing six new Gemini colours towards the end of the year. The new Gemini colours are:
- Gemini Blue-Blue (with Luminary)
- Gemini Gel Green-Pink (with Luminary – full release of the Lab set)
- Gemini Pearl Turquoise-White (with Luminary)
- Gemini Translucent Green-Teal
- Gemini Translucent Red-Violet
- Gemini Translucent Red-Yellow (full release of the Lab set)
What’s most surprising about this release is that Chessex is bringing back Translucent Green-Teal in the same colourway as the old Translucent Green-Teal from 2007 that they discontinued in 2013, exept the ink is going to be yellow instead of gold this time around.
Gemini Translucent Red-Violet is also a reprise of an old test set from way back when, which was then called Translucent Purple-Red. It’s to be determined if the colours will be the exact same as the old test set, but it looks pretty close.
It’s currently unclear if it will become a new strategy of Chessex to bring back old designs that were previously discontinued, but my educated guess is that this will not be a regularly recurring thing.
Keep in mind that Chessex makes decisions not based on what dice collectors may wish for, but what they think will sell well with distributors, retailers, casual roleplaying gamers and other regular customers, as this is the mainstay of their business. Dice collectors are only a marginal part of their customer base, and while they do read and watch what is being discussed in the dice collecting groups, collector requests are not likely to influence their business decisions in a significant way.
New from Die Hard Dice
Not that much going on this month at Castle Die Hard. They announced a new metal design called Reticle that is said to come soon. An exact release has not been announced yet.
New from HD
HD is following in Udixi’s footsteps, they are now also offering banded gemstone sets in interesting colour combinations.
Also new this month are five acrylic sets with a new font — these come as two-colour base with fine glitter inside.
New from CozyGamer
More CozyGamer re-releases this month. These are all older exclusive lines that they are bringing back in their new mould with the curly font and the extra custom logo d6.
New from Dice Envy
Everyone got really excited when Dice Envy offered the Midnight Sigil set in their store that everyone was raving about from one of the recent subscription boxes. They were sold out within a day, but Dice Envy has said they will get another batch made, likely towards the end of the year.
These dice are made from resin with gold foil — likely made by Q-Workshop as they use the same technique as their latest Witcher Hybrid Dice Kickstarter.
New from Lindorm Dice
Lindorm Dice is ramping up for a new Kickstarter, which is said to come in about one or two months. This one is inspired by sea shanties. Stay tuned!
New from Metallic Dice Games
MDG released something interesting — sharp-edged silicone dice that actually bounce as you roll them. I ordered two of these sets, and I’m really curious what they will look and feel like, and how they’ll bounce. These shold be fun!
New from Wiz Dice
Wiz Dice has now released their Series IV, which they call Painter’s Palette. Fun fact: These dice were all named by dice fans, they ran a naming contest on their social media pages and then picked their favourites.
New from Haxtec
I’ve talked about this in the July digest, looks like the new handcrafted sharp-edged mylar dice are now available in the Haxtec online store.
They also announced more 11-piece sets in existing designs for people who like extended sets.
New from Heartstring Dice
Two new sets this month from Heartstring Dice — a green sharp-edged skull inclusion set and a red layered set with mylar.
New from Dakota Irish
Pre-orders are now open for a new exclusive set from Dakota Irish, named Misty Mountains. As per their Facebook page, these sharp edged dice with a misty-milky base, verdant palm leaves, and copper flake inclusions were inspired by handmade soap.
New from Udixi
Some new dice from Udixi in August that I’m personally very excited about and hope they don’t disappoint, particularly that sharp-edged translucent rainbow set.
News from Eclipse Dice
This a bit of bittersweet news, since Eclipse Dice has decided to close down her business and stop making and selling dice. Deadline to order any of her remaining dice was August 21, 2021, so as of now, it’s no longer possible to purchase dice from the Eclipse Dice store. What a shame, but I’d like to wish Nina Aurora all the best in her future endeavours. And who knows, maybe she’ll return to the dice world at some point in the future!
Kickstarters
Kickstarters are now split into two sections:
1) Kickstarters from reputable companies or dice community members (I’ll call these Kickstarers+, but I can’t vouch that all these are legit and will deliver),
2) Kickstarters from unknown brands or creators that I wouldn’t necessarily vouch for (I’ll call this Other Kickstarters
The fact that I’m listing Kickstarters here doesn’t automatically mean I highly recommend them, or that they are trustworthy and legit. I try my best not to list anything that looks dodgy or that I couldn’t in good conscience recommend, but it’s always possible that a project looks great on paper but ends up not delivering what it promises. I may add my own commentary to the text if I’m not convinced about certain projects, but ultimately it’s at everyone’s own discretion whether they want to back any of these Kickstarters or not.
Kickstarters+
Dicebound Volume 2 by Dicebound
Fallen Fang Dice by Severed Books
Metal Christmas Tree Dice by Mark Frantzen
Kickstarter is in collaboration with Hymgho
3Dice Series 3 by 3Dice
Other Kickstarters
Dice of Death and Dismemberment by Deck & Dice Games
Dragon Crown Dice by Anna Dadones
Dragon Eye Dice by Spidermind Games
Handcrafted Buffalo Horn Dice by Tribal Craft Studio
Z-Dice by Igor
