Festung Budapest BattleDice: What size is right for the BudaPack?

[BattleSchool]

I have not finalized the designs for the BudaPack. Nor have I committed to a particular size of die.

My plan was to go with 9/16” for this, and all subsequent HASL dice. I will not make these in 1/2" because the detail is lost. [If you want a 1/2" Hungarian die, I recommend that you pick one up when we release (at least part of) our 1/2" line later this year. The die will feature the Hungarian cross in black on a white die. There will be no text or other designs on the die. There are no plans to pair this white die with a custom green die. A standard 1/2" precision die will work.]

If you own a set of our 5/8” Russian/German or American/Commonwealth BattleDice, you will be familiar with the level of detail on the 5/8” dice below.

View attachment 35854
View attachment 35857

If you own our 9/16” Sniper! Effects die, the Heretical ROF die, or a few “Tommy” dice, you will be familar with the 9/16" format below.

View attachment 35856
View attachment 35855

For those who own both sizes, it will be a bit easier to compare them.

If you were interested in purchasing a set of dice designed to complement Festung Budapest, which size would you prefer?

Below are some prototypes for comparison.

View attachment 35858

Thanks in advance,

Chris
P.S. If you have not already done so, be sure to weigh in on the best size for a speciality die poll.

 

[trevpr1]

What the fück does the SIZE of the dice matter if you are playing a HASL?! Compared to what?!

"Oh... Oh! I'm playing a HASL today! Better discard my usual dice and buy some special ones that better suit HASL!" Man, smaller dice right now would be a big bonus... or mebbe waay bigger dice? Yeah, that might work!"

"No...this is Budapest! I must use dice of a different size!"

You sell nice dice. They bring much pleasure to players who's opinion matters. This was weak however.

Suggest selling your dice in many sizes. Cover the market!

 

[BattleSchool]

What the fück does the size of the dice matter if you are playing a HASL?! Compared to what?!

"Oh... Oh! I'm playing a HASL today! Better discard my usual dice and buy some special ones that better suit HASL!"

You forgot to check "Just window shopping," or would Kristallnacht have been more appropriate.

 

[trevpr1]

You forgot to check "Just window shopping," or would Kristallnacht have been more appropriate.

Nah... Just me sayin'. Good luck with selling your dice.

 

[BattleSchool]

What the fück does the SIZE of the dice matter if you are playing a HASL?! Compared to what?!

"Oh... Oh! I'm playing a HASL today! Better discard my usual dice and buy some special ones that better suit HASL!" Man, smaller dice right now would be a big bonus... or mebbe waay bigger dice? Yeah, that might work!"

"No...this is Budapest! I must use dice of a different size!"

You sell nice dice. They bring much pleasure to players who's opinion matters. This was weak however.

Suggest selling your dice in many sizes. Cover the market!

Well, size does matter in at least two respects.

First, some folks like to have larger dice because they prefer the improved legibility, ease of viewing in a tray, etc. Some actually prefer larger dice because the designs are more prominent.

The second, more important (and specific) reason is that each individual design involves a $150.00 set-up fee. This is because each design requires its own stamp or die with which the foil is stamped. One would have to have a different stamp made for each size of die--unless one used the 1/2" design on all three sizes of dice, which is impractical.

In a perfect world, I suppose we could make the dice in all three sizes, with unique designs for each. But until I win the British lottery (I keep getting the emails, but have yet to receive a cheque), fat chance of that happening.

Hence the question as to which size players prefer.

 

[chaos45]

Ive seen your dice on Ebay they are very high priced for dice.

If you could reduce the price you might get interest in lots of more than 2-4 dice.

Flames of war has army lists for hungarians and the SS cav divisions that ppl might be interested in. The FoW dice are usually larger not small like the standard ASL component dice.

Again though depends on dice. I for one wont pay the prices you want for a couple dice, and think its crazy when other manufacturers sell custom dice for $1-2 each.

A custom FoW army pack is counters for the game in the custom division/force, a nice tin, and 16 dice for $24-$30....so until you can match that I doubt interest will be much.

If you can get your nicely designed dice down to a proper price range me and Im sure others migh be interested esp if you market to the FoW crowd which is much larger than the ASL crowd.

 

[aslbunker.]

AS I now count 57 years behind me, the 5/8" work best for me,
but can deal with the 9/16" if you are indeed going in that
direction. They are spectacular either way, Vic.

 

[PabloGS]

I believe that for dice with inlaid images 5/8'' is much better than 9/16''. I do have to throw them with a bit more energy than normal in my dice tower to make sure they dont end up cocked right where they land, but that is a very minor inconvenience.

 

[BattleSchool]

Ive seen your dice on Ebay they are very high priced for dice.

If you could reduce the price you might get interest in lots of more than 2-4 dice.

Flames of war has army lists for hungarians and the SS cav divisions that ppl might be interested in. The FoW dice are usually larger not small like the standard ASL component dice.

Again though depends on dice. I for one wont pay the prices you want for a couple dice, and think its crazy when other manufacturers sell custom dice for $1-2 each.

A custom FoW army pack is counters for the game in the custom division/force, a nice tin, and 16 dice for $24-$30....so until you can match that I doubt interest will be much.

If you can get your nicely designed dice down to a proper price range me and Im sure others migh be interested esp if you market to the FoW crowd which is much larger than the ASL crowd.

Thanks for the feedback.

I am aware of the FoW dice. However, I recall that these have the graphics on the six-spot. Whereas sixes are desirable in FoW, the opposite is mostly true for ASL.

The second point re FoW dice is that you may need to roll a handful at a time. This is why FoW markets tins of the same dice design. FoW dice are produced like standard game dice with the exception of the graphic on the six-spot. The materials and methods used in the manufacture of FoW dice are also less expensive. Compare this to the manufacturing process for precision dice. I doubt that you will ever see precision dice priced at the same level of ordinary dice for these reasons.

As for eBay, prices there are usually 15-20% higher due to eBay fees. You can get precision dice for less, especially when they are on sale (compare the Tommy Pack with a pair of precision dice with no graphics that usually run $15-30/pair online.)

Folks can also sometimes save on shipping costs by ordering through the KitShop catalogue, as the shipping rates on eBay are occasionally inflated by the shipping calculator. The shipping rates on Sitrep are prorated. Less expensive shipping options are available for some items, especially 1/2" dice. That said, even at a lower total price, precision dice will still cost far more than FoW dice.

Precision dice are designed to provide a level of randomness and fairness that cannot be matched by dice produced using normal production methods. This is why professional backgammon players use precision, ball-cornered dice.

Unfortunately, production costs of precision dice being what they are I cannot see FoW players replacing their standard dice with custom, precision ones any time soon.

But we can both dream.

 

[Fort]

Ive seen your dice on Ebay they are very high priced for dice.

If you could reduce the price you might get interest in lots of more than 2-4 dice.

Flames of war has army lists for hungarians and the SS cav divisions that ppl might be interested in. The FoW dice are usually larger not small like the standard ASL component dice.

Again though depends on dice. I for one wont pay the prices you want for a couple dice, and think its crazy when other manufacturers sell custom dice for $1-2 each.

A custom FoW army pack is counters for the game in the custom division/force, a nice tin, and 16 dice for $24-$30....so until you can match that I doubt interest will be much.

If you can get your nicely designed dice down to a proper price range me and Im sure others migh be interested esp if you market to the FoW crowd which is much larger than the ASL crowd.

The Battleschool dice are precision dice. They are not cheap pieces of malformed plastic you get in those Flames of War tins.

I don't think Battleschool is marketing the dice for Flames of War customers.

 

[fwheel73]

AS I now count 57 years behind me, the 5/8" work best for me,
but can deal with the 9/16" if you are indeed going in that
direction. They are spectacular either way, Vic.

I believe that for dice with inlaid images 5/8'' is much better than 9/16''. I do have to throw them with a bit more energy than normal in my dice tower to make sure they dont end up cocked right where they land, but that is a very minor inconvenience.

I voted for the 5/8".... they are easy to read and get 3 turns in my tower as they come to rest.
View attachment 35859

Unless there is a very large number of folks who want 9/16" I would suggest going with the one with the best look which seems to be 5/8". As I look at my 8 9/16" and 6 5/8" BattleSchool dice sitting side by side the larger ones seem to stand out-- they certainly look better-- along with the 10 other pairs of 5/8" precision bagammon dice.

It is up to you.

In regard to cocked dice in my tower-- it happens to both the 9/16" & 5/8"-- I am coming to the opinion that if it is cocked less than 45% it is good. Maybe 1/1, 1/2,12/12 come up equally cocked but the snakes and boxcars make one sick and happy. What is a really maddening is when the first die down the tower is a nice "1" and the second dice follows and touches that first die and flips it to a 5 or 6.... gee!

Best regards,:salute:
John

 

[fwheel73]

Ive seen your dice on Ebay they are very high priced for dice.
[big snip]
If you can get your nicely designed dice down to a proper price range me and Im sure others migh be interested esp if you market to the FoW crowd which is much larger than the ASL crowd.

I own bagammon precision dice and Battleschool precision dice. I think there are more bagammon players than ASLers. The bagammon 5/8 dice sell for about $8-10 each.... sometimes there are specials. I think the Battleschool dice are well priced when compared to the same level of precision we get with the bagammon dice [it is identical].

Remember to buy direct from Battleschool.... sometimes I think they are often on consignment to many ASL tournaments.

Good dice are not cheap.... I think.

Good rolling!

Best regards,:salute:
John

 

[Spencer Armstrong]

I much prefer the 5/8." I just like the feel and sight better on the larger ones.

But I'm maybe not the audience as I've probably bought my last BattleSchool dice. They're a fine product, but I have 32 precision dice in my case and I only use five in a game, so I'm pretty much at the saturation point.

S

 

[BattleSchool]

I much prefer the 5/8." I just like the feel and sight better on the larger ones.

But I'm maybe not the audience as I've probably bought my last BattleSchool dice. They're a fine product, but I have 32 precision dice in my case and I only use five in a game, so I'm pretty much at the saturation point.

S

Except, perhaps, for the 5/8" ATMM/PF Check die.

Appreciate the feedback re dice size. Thanks too for kind words everyone.

 

[Michael R]

I am not in the market for more precision dice either. I already owned six 1/2" precision dice before Kit Shop started selling them. I bought two of the first 9/16" BattleSchool dice for the larger size. Had I known there would be a lot more variety of images coming, I would have waited for the ASLOK dice. I also own the sniper effects die. I can't see buying anymore unless I lose mine. I try to show at least a modicum of self control when it comes to my ASL expenditures.

 

[BattleSchool]

AS I now count 57 years behind me, the 5/8" work best for me,
but can deal with the 9/16" if you are indeed going in that
direction. They are spectacular either way, Vic.

Thanks Vic, be sure to vote for the 5/8" version then.

 

[PabloGS]

So, while we are at it, do you have any plans for a 5/8'' sniper die?

 

[BattleSchool]

So, while we are at it, do you have any plans for a 5/8'' sniper die?

I guess I do now.

But probably not this year. A 5/8" version will require a new (and larger) stamp. But first, I have come up with a modified or new design.

In the works is the 5/8" PF-ATMM die (below), the FB set, an intro to the 1/2" nationality line (perhaps four dice: US/Jap/Ger/Sov), and possibly some larger USMC/Jap/Chinese dice to coincide with the release of Rising Sun. Just the set-up fees on these projects will cost several thousand dollars. That's before we manufacture a single die. So we have to take it slow.

View attachment 35865

I plan to submit the design for the PF die next week. Before I do that, I need to be sure that the design is both functional and technically practical. The design is with the production people at the moment. That said, if you see a way to improve the design, do not hesitate to comment.

Thanks for the interest Pablo.

 

[fwheel73]

I much prefer the 5/8." I just like the feel and sight better on the larger ones.

But I'm maybe not the audience as I've probably bought my last BattleSchool dice. They're a fine product, but I have 32 precision dice in my case and I only use five in a game, so I'm pretty much at the saturation point.
S

I am not in the market for more precision dice either. I already owned six 1/2" precision dice before Kit Shop started selling them. I bought two of the first 9/16" BattleSchool dice for the larger size. Had I known there would be a lot more variety of images coming, I would have waited for the ASLOK dice. I also own the sniper effects die. I can't see buying anymore unless I lose mine. I try to show at least a modicum of self control when it comes to my ASL expenditures.

Sort of like ASL modules... I have all of it, maybe too much. If there are some new Battleschool dice I will probably buy them. I have 8 pairs of Battleschool dice and as many regular precision 5/8" bagammon dice and I lay them all out by the dice tower. If the rolls start to sour... well, they go to the end of the dice ready line and maybe the next pair up bring some changed fortune. Always invite my opponent to share my dice. [It was funny one player had terrible luck with all of the precision dice in the ready line.... then he got out his dice... hmmm, the luck seemed to change.... always interesting to see that happen]. Some folks like to see their past rolls and are constantly changing their dice on every result.... so a line of precision dice will help show the ebb and flow of fortune.

Are not Battleschool dice next to paradise?

Best regards,:salute:
John

 

[Kevin Kenneally]

Sort of like ASL modules... I have all of it, maybe too much. If there are some new Battleschool dice I will probably buy them. I have 8 pairs of Battleschool dice and as many regular precision 5/8" bagammon dice and I lay them all out by the dice tower. If the rolls start to sour... well, they go to the end of the dice ready line and maybe the next pair up bring some changed fortune. Always invite my opponent to share my dice. [It was funny one player had terrible luck with all of the precision dice in the ready line.... then he got out his dice... hmmm, the luck seemed to change.... always interesting to see that happen]. Some folks like to see there past rolls and are constantly changing their dice on every result.... so a line of precision dice will help show the ebb and flow of fortune.

Are not Battleschool dice next to paradise?

Best regards,:salute:
John

John,

I agree with your assessment of the BS dice.

But during these very tugh economic times, money has to be budgetted properly.....

Got a dice cup finally (old drinking glass with a Lexus name etched into the side), Dice tower (Kevin Klausmeyer special edition), and a few too many items to purchase shortly from Scott at teh Gamer's armory (about $400 worth of stuff).

Chris does have some very good dice, but they will have to wait for a few more months, at least.