[AJCarrington]

Pretty cool looking KS for metal 6-sided dice:

Ako Dice

At $6/die, not cheap, but definitely like nothing else I've seen

[Sendaz]

the finish and bevelling are a nice touch

I have to say though I do not like the new pip design they are using.

Spent a few minutes watching the 3d rotating image down the page, just to see how fast I could 'read' the dice, intentionally not memorizing the rotation sequence so it was a fresh read every cycle. 
And they said the ability to scrub short term memory would never be useful.
While for the most part it is pretty easy, looking at sides 4 & 5 is actually annoying, with only a tiny nub on the side differentiating the two which made one slow down to read.
As least on traditional dice the fifth pip sits in the middle for fast ID.
Yes 4 & 5 are mirror imaged so the cross pip over the 3 bar pips go the opposite way, but you have to figure rolls are not nice and neat in a row and dice rotate on all axis.


It is interesting, but I think I will pass on it.

[Namikaze]

I got burned on a dice deal once already, so I'm going to be extra cautious in the future.  I like the idea of this die as a novelty, but I cannot see it replacing the brick of dice needed for Shadowrun.  The pip redesign is fun, though like Sendaz I had a hard time reading the dice quickly and found myself counting the lines.  The main thing that is going to make me pass on this project is the price.  $7.50 per die (the non-early bird price) is a bit steep.  For the price of two of these dice, I could get 12-20 regular dice.

For something other than Shadowrun, I could see this being fun and novelty.  But for Shadowrun, I can't imagine spending $100+ on just dice.

[Imveros]

I'd also like to see some specs to prove that these dice roll properly. IE each die face has an equal chance of popping up. Seems like it would be a difficult die to balance properly.

[Sendaz]

I'd also like to see some specs to prove that these dice roll properly. IE each die face has an equal chance of popping up. Seems like it would be a difficult die to balance properly.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1429341405/ako-dice/posts/1122802

Short answer is they are not perfectly balanced, though to be fair how perfect is any die?

However they do not say how much out they are out or specs on overall rolls.

[Namikaze]

Looking at the rest of the projects that this team has produced led me to finding their Zen Dice.  These are much easier to read, much prettier, and still stupidly expensive.  $3 per die, and they're plastic rather than aluminum.

[AJCarrington]

They posted an update a little earlier...acknowledged that the dice are not perfectly balanced...YMMV.

So far I'm only in for $15...will wait and see if they open up any volume deals later on.

[Imveros]

Looking at the rest of the projects that this team has produced led me to finding their Zen Dice.  These are much easier to read, much prettier, and still stupidly expensive.  $3 per die, and they're plastic rather than aluminum.

They mentioned in the comments section that if you pledge for this KS you cam add Zen dice to your order for 2 each up to 20 dice for $25

[Namikaze]

Looking at the rest of the projects that this team has produced led me to finding their Zen Dice.  These are much easier to read, much prettier, and still stupidly expensive.  $3 per die, and they're plastic rather than aluminum.

They mentioned in the comments section that if you pledge for this KS you cam add Zen dice to your order for 2 each up to 20 dice for $25

You mean that you can get 20 of their dice for $25, or do you mean that you can get 2 Ako dice and 2 Zen dice for $25 up to 20 times?

[Imveros]

so you pay 15 for your 2 metal dice, then add 25 extra for 20 zen dice. Here is the quote

Sure, if you want to add Zen Dice thru this campaign, please add

4dice-$8
8dice-$16
16dice-$20
20dice-$25

Then PM me for your selection.
I will post this in the next update too.
Thanks!

[Namikaze]

Ahhhh.  That's actually not bad at all then.

[Imveros]

Exactly, get your metal dice for initiative, and then you get 20 Zen dice for your pools ;-)

[AJCarrington]

Thanks Imveros...missed that comment...hmmm...simply more ways to separate me and my money...

[AJCarrington]

For those interested, the latest update posted some details re the balance of the dice:

Volume Centroid: 0.0641130282, 0.0563226848, -0.0227140199 (+/- 1e-11,1e-11,1e-11)

The project had raised over $40K so far ...hopefully the success doesn't impact his ability to manage and deliver:

[The Tekwych]

I get the feeling that is why he is behind in announcing the Stretch Goals. He wants to make sure things don't get out of hand. Mochi had some manufacturing issues that were not caught until after the KS ended and he did not like the delays at all. He seams to be the type to want all the answers before the questions come up.

You know, a Fixer.