Hello, Chaz Marler from Pair Of Dice Paradise, here. Have you ever wondered why, with six sided dice being the most popular dice featured in board games and rolled most frequently, why they’re cubes? Cubes don’t roll. The phrase isn’t “a rolling cube gathers no moss”, it’s “hey how come that mossy thing isn’t rolling? Because it’s a cube, Larry.”

It’s simply physics. But we continue casting cubical lots, like some sort of affront in the face of nature. But one company sets out to right the collective rolled wrongs of mankind with DoubleSix dice. Twelve-sided dice containing the numbers one through six twice.

Is this an advance in dodecagonal technology that will take the world by storm? Or is this polyhedronal revolution doomed to be crushed by Big Cube? To find the answer to this mystery, I recently set out on my own investigation. What did I discover? Find out in this episode of The Component Proponent.

I first discovered DoubleSix dice at BGGcon last year, when they were brought to the table by friend and fellow board game media maker, Marty Connell, or “Tony” to those who call him by the wrong name. Demonstrating his flair for nonconformity, Marty played our entire game using these strange 12-sided dice. I was intrigued. Unfortunately, he was paying attention too closely for me successfully steal them from him, so I had to go out and procure a set of my own.

Upon receiving my own set, I discovered that these fancy dandy dodecagons feature the numbers one through six on two sides each. Effectively turning a twelve sided polyhedron into a six sided dice. Even more surprising, this was achieved through mortal science, not arcane magics, as I had first suspected.

Is this shifted shape effective? Well, let’s perform an official Component Proponent Competition. In this corner, a traditional six-sided dice. And in this rounded-corner, a DoubleSix dice. Here we go! Yes folks, you can feel the feng shui flow as you're rolling a rounder shape, the way nature intended. Harmony with nature. I think the clear winner here is me for finding a way to get people to keep watching a video about rolling dice.

So, in my opinion, yes, the DoubleSix dice has redeemed it cubal counterpart. But, these altruistic dice didn’t stop there. No, riding high on their recent victory, they set out to demolish the need for arguably nature’s most sinister dice shape, the four-sided pyramid dice, also known as triangles of turmoil, the sinister strobiloid, foot-stabbing obelisks of agony.

And thus was developed DoubleSix’s companion product, a series of dice called TripleFours, which contain three sets of 1-4. However. And, in a clever move to help the two dice sets distinct from one another, the TripleFours contain decorative patterns to denote the value rolled. Making them instantly distinctive from DoubleSix dice.

So, even if replacing your six-sided dice with DoubleSix dice doesn’t tempt you into conversion, the mere thought of doing away with these puny powerful pyramids of pain should cause even the most jaded gamer to give them a consideration.

They also make double fudge dice, which can not only be used in conjunction with the Fudge and Fate role playing systems, but can also be rolled in an attempt to increase the odds of convincing your wife that she should bring fudge home from work.

So, that’s an overview of DoubleSix dice. An interesting component that’s as fully-functional as it is neat. These dice, available in D6, D4 and fudge dice variations, are definitely worth looking into if you enjoy dice, especially if you demand that your novelty dice are still fully functional. Because when it comes to that, these dice definitely fit the bill.

Thanks for watching this component review! Do you have a board game component that’s worth talking about? Contact me at components@pairofdiceparadise.com and perhaps I can discuss them on an upcoming episode. Until then, for more board game news, reviews and commentary, click that fancy-dancy subscribe button we all know and love. And, if you’re feeling especially bold, be sure to follow Pair Of Dice Paradise and The Dice Tower on Twitter and Facebook too for more fun and surprises. And until the next episode, I’ve been Chaz Marler, your Component Proponent.

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