Changeable dice, invented by the Belgian Dirk Laureyssens in 1993, allow designers to craft games where players can customize their dice. This merges traditional dice randomization with game logic and strategy. It's an excellent tool for designers aiming to devise unique new concepts.
The design of the original die dates back more than 5,000 years. Time for something new.
The dice body is a cubic frame designed to allow face-disks to be easily inserted and removed.
Face-disks are petite discs designed to fit snugly into a dice body. They can be adorned with (tampon) prints in up to three colors. By adding or removing these disks, you can adjust the powers and values on your game dice, allowing you to craft your desired odds!
The concept of changeable face-disks extends beyond just dice! Face-disks can also be incorporated into pawns and potentially other game components. Inventor Dirk Laureyssens termed this the ZAP Game System, wherein all design elements can exchange their information and attributes with other components. Contact us to learn more.
“Changeable game faces allow for quick prototyping and open up new areas in game design: the ability to improve die faces and the ability to concentrate multiple copies of faces to alter the odds in your favor.”
“Have you ever wanted special powers in a game that only occur some of the time? Changeable dice let players do that in a very elegant manner.”
“Have you ever rolled a die in a game and wished you could change the odds of a given face coming up? Changeable dice let players do that.”
The changeable dice, part of the “ZAP Game System,” are rights-protected and cannot be reproduced without consent. The inventor, Dirk Laureyssens, authored three technical books on the changeable concept to secure these copyrights. He was granted US copyrights (VA 637632, VA 637629, Tx 3747990, Tx 3884658) and analogous rights in Belgium. In these works, Dirk detailed multiple techniques for designing new games using the changeable dice and, more broadly, the ZAP game system. He also introduced new games and proposed alternate versions of existing ones. The copyrights have since been transferred to his heirs, who became part of the partnership at Creative City. To facilitate collaboration, Creative City offers a standard licensing contract, streamlining the process for game designers and publishers wishing to incorporate the ZAP dice system into their games. While Creative City does not oversee manufacturing or co-design, we do connect game publishers with a manufacturing partner, eliminating the need for tooling investment in many game applications.
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