Light up your game with LED dice

An Australian company has taken a gamble on the design of a new die. The Luma Dice, which is made from the highest quality aluminum, has 21 RGB LED lights (each side with its own color), and an accelerometer that lights up when you’re ready to roll. The Adelaide-based Min Mendis, who created the gadget, explains why he’s hoping this die will appeal to the high rollers.

Why did you want to redesign the humble die?

So we created Luma Dice because we love board games. We were playing around with ideas about what we thought would be the coolest dice. After a while, we thought “Hey, why not L.E.D dice”. A few prototypes later, Luma Dice was born.

How is this better than conventional dice?

The main difference is that it’s lit up, which we think is different. The other is that it’s made of aluminum with cool anodize colors. We also added in some cool programming features that let people change the light colors, which can be turned on or off.

Could you explain how it works?

Inside every die is a flexible circuit board, L.E.Ds, resistors, capacitors, a sensor, and a small microchip. This all fits inside the die with two small batteries. The sensor can detect motion and turns on when the die is rolled. After 10 seconds of inactivity, the die will turn off automatically. It’s actually quite simple really.

Tell us about the balance and the distribution of the Luma…

We designed Luma Dice with balance in mind. We first made sure first that the aluminum was evenly weight distributed. Then the flexible board has different components on each side, so we did our best to make sure that the weight was distributed evenly. Although we can’t guarantee a perfect balance, we can ensure there isn’t a bias. Bear in mind that most die, with the exception of casino dice, are not perfectly weighted.

How can this device help make games more fun?

Dice are the most common thing used in board and tabletop games, so Luma Dice adds a cool, interesting and fun feature to regular games nights!

Could this device be adapted to electronic games or connected with the smartphone in the future?

As it is now, no. But in the future it is a possibility.

-By Daniel Casillas