Having played games all my life you might be surprised to know that I only found out what a dice tower was a few years ago. Since then (though I don’t use them) I was curious to know how they worked and what they’re for.
What is a dice tower? A dice tower is a hollow box-like object used by board game/dice game players to eliminate cheating when rolling dice. Dice are dropped inside at the top of the small, vertical structure where they fall through it, hitting baffles, dowels or other objects on their way down. They exit the bottom with random outcomes that are nearly impossible to manipulate.
Detailed Explanation
Dice towers are Jenga-tower-shaped hollow boxes that are designed to be used with dice. Players drop dice inside the top of the tower, which eventually fall through to the bottom resulting in a random die roll. While inside the dice tower, the dice usually hit a number of objects that are designed to deflect the dice in random and unpredictable ways so that players cannot manipulate the results in search of specific outcomes.
The objects inside interacting with the dice are often randomly placed round baffles that stick out from the walls of the tower. Other times they are slanted ramps that divert the dice through the tower in a predictable way—but still provide an unpredictable outcome. Some even have moving parts that create even more unpredictability into the tower because they not only have objects diverting the dice, but those parts move. Dice hit objects in the dice towers in subtly different ways each time, and therefore produce different results.
Dice towers are usually from 6 inches tall to a foot tall but there are certainly some that are outside this range. There really isn’t any one standard size; In fact, many people make them at home, so sizes can be all over the place.
Inner dimensions (and other dimensions for that matter) of dice towers are often the size of what a Jenga tower would be if it were hollowed out. Which means they are a few inches long and a few inches wide. They are large and tall enough to allow dice to fall through and hit objects on their way down, but not too large that they get in the way of the game that is actually being played.
To be honest, I play games with friends and family a lot and I don’t have any family or friends that have one—or even like to use one. Though effective, they just aren’t practical for most people. Especially since most people aren’t into games nearly as much as I am. I will say, though, that the games that my family, friends and I like to play are more in the Euro-game category (If you don’t know what a Euro game is, we have written an awesome article all about them here). So, we use fewer dice than others that play dice-heavy games.
What dice towers are made from
Dice towers can really be made with any material that can be manipulated, but still hold its shape once constructed. Some of the most common materials that are used to make dice towers are wood, plastic, foam board, and cardboard—or a combination of them. The most common towers are made from wood and plastic though.
I think the most elegant looking towers are those made of wood, while the coolest looking towers are made from clear plastic parts. Though these are the most common types to buy, many people build dice towers on their own and have come up with some very creative ideas.
Most common uses for a dice tower
Lots of dice
This might be an obvious suggestion for some, but it certainly must be on the list. Games that require the use of a lot of dice, usually requires players to be rolling those dice constantly throughout the game. Having a dice tower ensures everyone is playing fairly while all the dice rolling is going on.
This helps keep everyone at ease and not checking other players for cheating. It also keeps the dice in one area of the table so that the next player to roll knows where they are. This may seem like a ridiculous reason, but with little kids like mine who love dice, it is sometimes an issue at our house.
Playing with cheaters
No one likes a cheater! And as far as dice are concerned, a dice tower eliminates a player’s ability to manipulate a dice roll entirely. Even if a cheater is attempting to manipulate the dice tower in their favor, they would have an extremely hard time doing it. Dice towers are designed to throw the dice all over the place within the tower, eventually emerging from the base of the tower with random rolls. That dirty cheater could even be carefully dropping the dice in the exact same way each time and find it difficult to produce consistent results. It is like trying to win at PLINKO, it is very difficult to manipulate.
Playing with overly-enthusiastic rollers
Admittedly, I can often be the enthusiastic player that sometimes sends the dice sailing off the table and onto the floor. Inevitably, I have to re-roll the dice a number of times to get a satisfactory result. Dice towers eliminate this from ever happening. Players simply drop the dice into the top of the tower, they trickle down through and they are usually caught in some sort of container at the bottom. Never again would my friends have to tell me to roll the dice again. I’ll hold off on getting one though, I like the re-rolling.
Many of small game pieces
A very compelling reason to use a dice tower is when the dice are constantly knocking over all the small game pieces spread throughout the table. I cannot stand having to rebuild the game board and trying to remember where all the pieces were. Without fail, though, it happens several times in a game that uses both small pieces and dice. Obviously, using a dice tower eliminates this problem immediately. The small container at the bottom of the tower catches all of the dice perfectly and no one will want to secretly punch Jerry for knocking over all the pieces again.
Playing on a small surface
I have many times found myself playing a board game on a surface that is way too small. We can’t really ever find a place to roll the dice that isn’t either flying off the table or knocking down all the game pieces on the board. And most surfaces that aren’t even considered small, start feeling tiny as all the pieces are set up and the game gets going. A small dice tower takes up very little space and can be placed in the corner of the table. But for the space it takes up, it provides a consistent and organized way to roll dice throughout the game. There is no time wasted on picking up knocked down pieces and no need to use the top of the box as the dice receptacle.
Practical Applications of Dice Towers
For all of the reasons we’ve already discussed, a dice tower may be a good idea. But if you’re like me, you probably wouldn’t ever use one. Generally speaking, my family and friends all play games simply for the fun of it. Don’t get me wrong, we still get competitive and want to win; but fun is the primary purpose. So cheating or manipulating the dice just isn’t something we do (or if it is, we’re all really bad at it).
So getting an official device to roll dice in a drone-like, boring way isn’t something most people are going to go out and do. I think for most of them there’s just something about holding the dice in your hands and rolling them across the table. Even if that means they’ll have to set the pieces up again for the 10th time.
Related Questions
How hard is it to build a dice tower? Dice towers can be built fairly easily. Many game players build dice towers from wood, plastic, and other materials that can be bought at a hardware store. Dice towers are not all the same, so the complexity to build one depends highly on the design. YouTube has many helpful tutorials on building various dice-tower models.
What is a dice tray? A dice tray is a container with a soft, flat surface and raised sides used for catching all the dice thrown during board games. They are often 8-12 inches in diameter and have a surface that is flat enough to produce a definite dice-roll outcome, but soft enough to reduce noise from the dice. They are meant to prevent the dice from moving all over the game board during rolls. Additionally, they help to keep sleeping children from waking up because of noise–unless of course you yell because of a great roll.