What have the Romans ever done for us? Dice Towers.

Well if this post wasn't an excuse for recalling a Monty Python classic, then you will have to forgive me for shamelessly including a reference to the meeting convened by the People's Front of Judea, not of course to be confused with the Judean People's Front as Reg would be keen for me to remind you.

As Reg completed his list of contributions the Romans made to modern civilisation I might have had the temerity to mention dice towers, and with a need to update my collection of said gaming accessories to go with the recommissioning of JJs Wargames Room, I thought I would show you my recent investment in a couple of new towers from Warbases, complete with their baffle sets to lessen the clatter of dice cascading through their interiors.

https://warbases.co.uk/product/folding-dice-tower/

Our trip last May up to London to visit the 'Legion Life in the Roman Army' exhibition at the British Museum included an example of this Roman tradition in 'rolling bones' and allowing Fortuna to have the final say in what the scores would be rather than the human hand attempting to turn what should be a measure of chance that governs all human endeavours into a controlled drop into a tray or the table, with a likely exclamation of  'oh that was lucky!' 

JJ's Wargames - The British Museum Exhibition, Legion Life in the Roman Army

Roman soldiers, passing the time with simple games of chance using dice and perhaps including the odd wager, were wise to such human fallibility and thus, as you might have gathered, I am a firm convert to the majesty of the simple dice tower, and have a small collection that I carry in my gaming bag ready for any occasion.

I had looked at getting the Warlord offering for a while before taking the plunge, with my principle concern that they might not be large enough for the number of dice I might roll through them, certainly if playing a game of Kiss Me, Hardy where a point blank broadside from anything above a fourth-rate ship-of-the-line might see ten or more d6 and a d10 going through the works at any one time.

My subsequent trials with my new towers find them able to cope with fifteen 16mm d6 plus a d10 without spillage, if gently released through the tower, with space in the tray to include perhaps another five dice if intended to be rolled together. 

That said, there is always the alternative to roll the next size down of d6, namely the 12mm option without any major loss in dice heft, and likely doubling the capacity of the tower tray. 

My test of application used the standard d10 together with 16mm and 12mm d6.

The baffle sets are a delight and make the experience of using the towers that much more enjoyable as well as giving them, in my humble opinion, a much more finished look especially with as I chose to do, a toning down of the bright mdf look with an application of acrylic wood staining.

With regarding putting the thing together, I found the instruction pdf available for download from Warbases very helpful and would highly recommend familiarising oneself with the various parts of the kit before committing wood glue or baffle components to a part that might not be the one you thought it was.

The baffles are applied to the three riffles in the tower and the corresponding facing part of the tower and completed with a baffle for the tray.

The first tower took a bit longer to build, going through this check procedure, but the process was much more intuitive with the second, and I also became much better at fixing the baffle felt, simply letting it fall into position on a given part rather that stretching it from an end already stuck, that tended to distort the shape.

My intention is that these towers should be a fixture of my new-look room and in time I think I might get another two to have plenty around my table, but they are nicely sized to allow easy carriage in my wargaming kit bag and with a chit draw bag tucked in the back of the tray and a rubber band around the folded tower, you could also store the dice required for a given game inside.

Anyway, if you have been considering the Warbases dice tower or indeed getting into dice towers as a way of your wargaming life then these kits are a useful addition to current offerings and I would recommend getting the baffle kits to complete the experience.

As always, more anon

JJ