Dice Box
Dice Box by Alex Owens
Dice have been around for a long time. They emerged over 12,000 years ago with the top ankle bones (the talus) of animals like sheep and goats. The traditional six-sided cube die seems to have developed about 3000 years ago, and the familiar “opposing sevens” layout of pips came around the same time. Dice were widely established in the time of the Romans as a common gambling game. Alex Owen’s Dice Box took a blink of the eye, in relative terms, to evolve, (well, about 4 hours relative to the history of dice) but is actually the oldest of his many amazing sequential discovery and take-apart creations. He has recently released his “Director’s Cut”, the final version of the original idea that started many years ago. He has done this with most of his designs, revisiting them and fixing little details that always bothered him, such as unreliable movements, flimsy parts, or unsatisfying mechanisms. The final versions are worth the wait, and are some of the most intricate, complex and intellectually satisfying “puzzle boxes” I have experienced. The new Dice Box is no exception, and is essentially a complete redesign.
on theme wrapping with fidget top
Alex told me about the journey. “Let's see, so the story of this box goes back to before I started making puzzles. I never followed the puzzle world very closely, but I liked to watch the occasional video by Mr. Puzzle or Chris Ramsey looking for cool mechanisms and ideas. I remember seeing the Pair O' Dice puzzle by Tye Stahly, and loved the way he took an every day item and turned it into something engaging and surprising.
So the idea for a Dice themed box was always in my mind, I was particularly excited make the pips into mechanisms and play with the basic features of the cube. Therefore when I started making puzzles, one of my earliest designs was the old DieSd that Kris Antibus made a run of several years ago. But as you may know, that box had some issues - annoying steps, flimsy pieces, and potential skips, so I shelved the idea for a while. Recently, since I've been going through and fortifying my old designs, I decided to give it a go. Typically I try to give the old designs a nice coat of paint and a few new ideas, but this one I knew had to be completely reimagined.”
take a chance and roll the dice
It had admittedly been a while since I experienced the original DieSd puzzle. I had a Kris copy as well as an Alex print from a few years ago. I recall it being interesting and enjoyable but a bit finicky with some parts easily broken. My old recollections were useless in helping me navigate the new Dice Box, which is truly a different puzzle. It is also extremely well designed, well built, and deviously tricky at certain steps. The central mechanism is also ingenious. Alex is a gifted designer with a knack for making tricky mechanisms work while also making the experience fun. The whole puzzle can also be disassembled into pieces at the end, after finding the final secret compartment which is full of themed prizes. It seems to be a another signature move on a Mowen’s puzzle.
prototypes - courtesy of Alex Owens
Alex also told me a bit about the technical side of his puzzle design process. “One of my biggest gripes with 3D printing has always been what I call "unsupported ceilings." These are places where I print a flat layer that sits above the printbed, and the filament used for it always sags and doesn't look or feel great. If you think back to my Heart Box, the main body was printed upside down, meaning that the stripes slide across this "bumpy floor" of sorts. In my new Dice Box this comes into play with the final Stash piece, and originally the "floor" of that piece was made of these sagging bridges. I hated the idea, particularly as the capstone piece, so I came up with a solution! The final product has what I call an insert, a piece printed independently then pressed into place during the printing process to give it some structure. And as an added benefit, the piece being standalone means I can do fun things with it like emboss the layout of the rewards to help with reassembly. Since I came up with the idea, I've been going a bit crazy seeing where I can apply it. One of the most promising use cases is the Heart Box, since the bumpy floor always made the stripes move a bit stickily/inconsistently. I've actually designed 3 different inserts for that box now, and while the printing process is a bit more work the end result is also so much smoother.
die another day
[Dice Box] was probably the toughest project I've taken on to date for a variety of reasons. Firstly because I didn't want to abandon all the ideas in that original design, instead I wanted to evolve them into something that matched the quality of my other puzzles. I'm happy to say I feel I was very successful in this! With the gear set, the [spoiler] plate, the central pip on the five, and the space between the pips on the three to name a few, everything got reimagined into a more cohesive and reliable puzzle.
playing with loaded dice
The second reason it was tough, was because this was the easiest puzzle I've made in a while. I find that it's one kind of challenge to envision and construct interesting mechanisms, but it's an extra challenge to actually make them legible. It's a skill I'm still learning, and I hope I hit the right mix for this puzzle. I think I'm going to take on my Oliver puzzle next, and am excited to lean even more into the "interesting but not complicated" mindset. The final thing I really wanted for this puzzle was a good feel. Since it's in the shape of a game piece, I wanted to lean into that game/toy idea with some nice satisfying moves. I spent quite a while designing and honing pieces that would click into position or snap into place.”
Apple Smash
Relative to Alex’s other recent designs, such as the Heart Box, award winning Piano Box, and the mind boggling Gravity Box, the Dice Box is “easier”, but really only because it is not as lengthy as those others. There’s certainly plenty there to keep you guessing for a while, at least if you are me! I found the experience incredibly enjoyable and spent many nights making my way back and forth to the same wall over and over until things clicked and I could move on. The reassembly, particularly if you aren’t paying close attention as parts come off, is also tricky, and I found myself disassembling everything all over again when I could not get the very last step to fit into place. I highly recommend that you take a gamble on this one yourself.
this drink is smashing
I’ve had particular set of dice sitting on top of my vermouth fridge (you have one of those too, I’m sure) for a long time. You may have seen pictures of “mixology dice” like these, maybe you even have a set yourself. They are more novelty than anything else, and as a purveyor of the finer points of liquid culinary craft (ie cocktail snob) I eschewed actually making a cocktail with them. I always thought they could be good for making really bad cocktails, perhaps as part of a dubious party challenge I might subject my guests to someday. But making a cocktail with actual dice, to toast the Dice Box, seemed too perfect an opportunity to pass up. So, I rolled the dice.
nice dice, with ice
These particular “mixology dice” allow you to choose a subset of dice from the larger pile, depending on what type of cocktail you want to make. Which is at least a more promising approach than one size fits all. I decided to make a seasonal smash, so had to select the appropriate dice from the set which included one for the base spirit (I rolled brandy and decided to use apple brandy), one for the fruit (apple, which is why I went with apple brandy), one for the citrus (initially I rolled grapefruit, didn’t have any, rolled again and got lime – yes I cheated a little), one for the sweetener (I rolled “jam”, which is actually a fun way to sweeten a cocktail, but all I had was strawberry jam, which seemed wrong here but turned out really well), and finally one for the “herb” (basil, a really nice touch). A splash of sparkling water finishes the drink, which turned out to be, well, smashing! The cocktail was remarkably good! I’m still not convinced that every roll will yield a winner, but hey, that’s the nature of gambling, after all. Cheers.
this pair is no gamble
Apple Smash
2 oz apple brandy
3 apple slices
¾ oz lime
1 tsp strawberry jam
3-4 basil leaves
Muddle the apple with the other ingredients in the tin and then shake with ice. Strain into a glass with ice. Apple die garnish.
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