Wand Dice Review

Wand Dice looks amazing, and I've used it maybe once. That's the whole review in one line. It's a beautiful collectible and a frustrating set of dice, and $59 was a lot to pay for something that mostly sits on my shelf.

What I reviewed

Wand Dice is a collectible 7-in-1 dice set shaped like a dagger that stands in a base. The handle is made of spinning sections, each with one or two dice on it, and the d20 is built into the base. The numbers use dot-and-bar icons instead of digits. I backed it on Kickstarter for $59.

Look18/20

It looks awesome. Skulls, horns, filigree, and a blade that stands tall in its base. On a shelf or the corner of the table, it's a showpiece.

Usability1/20

This is where it falls apart. The spin on each section is very smooth, which would normally be a good thing. But if you let a section spin itself out, you could be waiting a while, so you either stop it yourself or let it go. That could add some tension at the table, but it would have been nice to have something to slow it down. The Stellar Ring solves this with magnets inside that bring it to a stop, and something like that would have fixed this.

The bigger problem is the d20. For most games it's the most important die, and here it lives on the base. I can't hold the dagger, fidget with it while I GM, and make quick rolls. So it doesn't come out when I play.

Then there are the numbers. The dot-and-bar icons fit the look of the piece, but they take some getting used to, and having to decipher a roll in the middle of a game is a little annoying. They add a headache to something that should be simple.

Reading a roll is its own chore. Little blue markers run down the dagger to show which value you rolled. But the sections turn so easily that you either keep a finger on the dagger while you look for the marker, hold it in your hand with the markers facing up, or leave it in the base and don't touch it. Then you find the value and decipher the dots and bars.

For me, it was a critical fail.

Quality16/20

It has real heft to it, and it feels like a solid piece.

Value5/20

I paid $59 on Kickstarter, and I honestly kind of regret it. I've rolled it maybe once. The rest of the time, it's decor. Dice I don't use aren't worth $59, however good they look.

Who it's for

Collectors who want a showpiece for the shelf. If you want dice you'll actually roll at the table, skip it.

The verdict

A 10 out of 20, a Miss. The look is the only thing holding it up. It's a great shelf piece and a bad set of dice.