Before we begin this month's development update, we'd like to share a milestone that means an enormous amount to everyone involved in The One Dice.
Earlier this year, The One Dice received the Red Dot Design Award: Best of the Best for Product Design.
The Red Dot Design Awards are recognised internationally as one of the world's leading design competitions, attracting entries from global brands, respected manufacturers, established design consultancies and ambitious startups. Receiving a Red Dot Award is an achievement in itself. Receiving Best of the Best is an even greater honour and is reserved for a small number of products that demonstrate exceptional design and innovation.
When we started this project, we set out to reinvent one of the oldest gaming tools in history. We knew that meant years of industrial design, electronics, firmware, software, testing and refinement. Awards were never the objective. Building an incredible product was.
Receiving this recognition is incredibly rewarding because it validates the vision we've spent years pursuing. At the same time, it raises the bar even higher. Our responsibility now is to ensure the final product you receive truly lives up to that recognition.
Most importantly, this achievement belongs to this community as much as it does to our team. Your support, encouragement and belief in the project have made this journey possible.
New Character Animations
Development certainly hasn't slowed down. Over the last few weeks we've been working hard on a new generation of class animations, giving every character even more personality and presence.
Today we're excited to share an early look at the Sorcerer and Monk, alongside continued work on critical hit animations, miss animations.
🔮 SORCERER — Arcane Power Unleashed
🥋 MONK — Precision in Every Strike
✨ PALADIN CRITS
🧠 Behind the Roll
Since completing tooling, our attention has shifted almost entirely towards firmware, software and systems engineering. This stage isn't always the easiest to show visually, but it's where The One Dice truly comes to life.
Building Systems, Not Just Features
One of the biggest changes over the last few months has been the way we're approaching development. Earlier in the project, we were building individual pieces of the puzzle. Today, almost everything is interconnected.
From the outside it may look like we're simply adding features such as multi-roll, fast roll, lighting profiles or character themes. In reality, those visible features are only the end result. What we're really building are the underlying systems that allow every part of The One Dice to work together as one seamless experience.
Multi-roll is a perfect example. Behind what appears to be one feature is an entire chain of systems. The firmware has to recognise the roll, understand the current mode, retrieve the correct animations and artwork, synchronise the lighting, communicate with the companion app, display the correct results and prepare itself for the next interaction. All of that happens in fractions of a second.
The same engineering exists across lighting, Bluetooth, critical hits, miss animations, environments, themes, firmware updates and future downloadable content. Every new capability must be tested alongside every other major system already in the dice.
Alongside that testing, we're continually reviewing data organisation, firmware architecture, optimisation and memory usage. Much of this work isn't obvious in a screenshot or video, but it's some of the most important engineering in the entire project because these foundations influence almost every experience you'll have when using The One Dice.
Because everything is connected, development has become much more about building reliable systems than simply adding individual features. Every new capability must be tested against every other major system already in the dice to ensure everything continues to work exactly as intended.
A huge amount of engineering time is currently being invested in optimisation. We're redesigning how information is organised, improving memory efficiency, reducing unnecessary duplication, compressing data where appropriate and making sure every file can be retrieved instantly when it's needed. There's also extensive testing taking place across every connected system to ensure performance and reliability remain exactly where we want them to be.
Firmware: The Brain of The One Dice
If the hardware is the body of The One Dice, the firmware is its brain.
We're currently managing thousands of individual assets, including animations, number graphics, critical hit sequences, miss animations, fast-roll assets, multi-roll systems, character themes, lighting profiles, interface graphics and supporting data. A significant amount of engineering effort is being invested in data compression, memory optimisation, file organisation and validation. Every change is tested across multiple connected systems because even a small improvement can influence the behaviour of the entire platform. These decisions become the foundation that future updates, themes and downloadable content will be built upon, which is why we're investing the time to get them right now.
Preparing for Production
Alongside software development we're preparing for the next stage of manufacturing.
One of the biggest considerations over the past year has been the global memory market. Since The One Dice was originally designed, the availability and pricing of the high-capacity memory our product relies on has changed significantly. Industry analysts have reported substantial increases across parts of the memory market, with some categories more than doubling in price.
For The One Dice, memory isn't simply another component. Every animation, lighting profile, theme, interface element and firmware asset depends on it. That has led us to invest considerable engineering effort into redesigning how information is stored, reducing duplication, improving compression and making smarter use of the available memory.
These are engineering decisions, but they're also production decisions. Taking the time to make the right choices now gives us the strongest possible platform as we move into manufacturing.
Quality Before Deadlines Throughout this journey we've continued asking ourselves one question: do we move faster, or do we build the best version of The One Dice we possibly can?
Every time we've reached the same conclusion. Build it properly.
That's the same philosophy that guided tooling, and it's the same philosophy guiding every engineering decision today. We firmly believe the extra effort we're investing now will result in a product you'll enjoy for many years to come.
Thank You
Thank you once again for your continued patience, encouragement and belief in what we're building. Every message and every comment genuinely motivates the team.
Although much of today's progress happens behind the scenes, we're making meaningful progress every week, and we're excited to continue sharing more of the journey with you as we move closer to production.
We hope you're all doing well. It’s hard to believe, but we’ve now spent the last 7-8 months deep in tooling and engineering development for The One Dice. While things may seem quiet from the outside at times, a huge amount of work has been happening behind the scenes every single week. Today, we’re excited to share one of our biggest milestones yet:
🎉 Tier 1 Tooling Has Been Signed Off
After months of iteration, testing, refinement, and validation, we’ve now officially signed off on Tier 1 tooling.
This is a major step forward.
For those unfamiliar with manufacturing, tooling is one of the longest and most complex stages of bringing a product like this to life. It isn’t simply a case of creating a design and pressing "manufacture."
Every single component has to be engineered, tested, and refined to ensure it works reliably at scale:
The outer shell geometry
Internal fit and tolerances
Material composition
Surface finishes and textures
Strength and durability
Mould flow and injection behaviour
Assembly consistency
Long-term wear resistance
Electronics integration
Even seemingly small details such as the texture of the casing or how two parts fit together can require multiple rounds of adjustment and testing.
Our goal from the beginning has been simple: make something that not only looks magical, but is built to last.
After many months of development, we’re now confident that the major mechanical components fit together correctly and perform as intended.
This milestone moves us from the heavy engineering phase into the next exciting chapter.
🛠 Why Tooling Takes So Long
One of the most common questions we receive is:
"Why does tooling take so long?"
The answer is that tooling is the foundation of the entire product.
Unlike software, where updates can be pushed digitally, physical products require extensive validation before production begins. Once steel tooling is finalized, changes become significantly more difficult and expensive.
That means we must ensure:
Parts assemble correctly
Materials meet our quality standards
The finish looks premium
The product can withstand real-world use
Manufacturing remains consistent across thousands of units
In many ways, tooling is the stage where an idea truly becomes a real product. And we’re incredibly excited to have reached this point.
🎲 Roll Testing
One of the areas we've spent an incredible amount of time on, far more than many people might expect, is the roll itself. After all, The One Dice is still a die at heart, and how it rolls and feels in your hand is one of the most important parts of the experience.
At the end of the day, The One Dice still has to feel like a great die.
We can add screens, LEDs, animations, app features, and all sorts of exciting functionality but none of it matters if the rolling experience isn't right. From the very start of this project, our number one priority has been simple:
How does it feel in your hand? And how does it roll? Because like many of you, we love dice too.
Over the past months, we've spent countless hours rolling, testing, adjusting, and refining every aspect of the experience, including:
Weight distribution
Balance and feel
Rolling behaviour
Landing consistency
Overall handling
We've rolled prototypes hundreds if not thousands of times throughout development.
And we're genuinely thrilled with where the rolling experience is today.
One of the most satisfying moments during this journey has been watching The One Dice roll across the table and naturally settle onto its screen face. It's one of those things that's difficult to fully describe until you see it happen in person.
Because while The One Dice brings something new to the table, at its heart it still respects the ritual that makes rolling dice so much fun in the first place. That has always been our goal from day one.
Before diving in, it's important to mention that the videos and images shared in this update represent very early internal development testing. What you're seeing is not final hardware, software, or UI, and many of the systems shown are running on development components and test platforms used purely for engineering and validation purposes.
In other words, unlike the physical tooling, electronics development is often an even longer journey.
The One Dice isn't simply a physical product it's a combination of hardware, firmware, software, wireless connectivity, and app development, all working together in a very small form factor.
Over the past several months, we've been continuously testing and refining:
Roll detection systems
Fast Roll mode
Multi-roll functionality
Screen performance
LED effects and animations
Battery performance
Charging behaviour
Bluetooth connectivity
Firmware stability
Companion app features
Internal software systems
Testing these systems isn't a one-time event. Every feature requires extensive validation across different scenarios, edge cases, and long-term usage to ensure it performs reliably and consistently. This means there isn't just one thing to test there are hundreds of interactions happening behind the scenes that all need to work seamlessly together.
As physical tooling reaches maturity, our focus increasingly shifts toward electronics, firmware, and software refinement a process that will continue throughout the coming stages of development.
Our philosophy remains the same as it has from day one:
Test extensively. Refine carefully. Ship only when we're confident in the experience.
A common question we often receive is:
"If the feature works, why keep testing it?"
The answer is simple: in hardware development, a feature working once isn't enough; it needs to work thousands of times reliably, under many different conditions, and across many different devices.
As development progresses, we continue refining these systems to ensure they are stable, responsive, and ready for real-world use.This stage of development is where many of the "invisible" hours happen. While it may not always be as visually exciting as seeing physical parts, it's the work that transforms a prototype into a polished product. There's still plenty of testing ahead, but seeing these systems communicate and come to life is incredibly exciting and we're looking forward to sharing more as development continues.
🚀 What Comes Next?
With Tier 1 tooling now signed off, we’re entering the next major phase of development.
Our focus now shifts toward:
Main production preparation
Continued electronics validation
Firmware development and optimization
Companion app development
System integration testing
Pre-production builds
Manufacturing readiness
While the physical product has reached a major milestone, development continues across the electronics and software side of the project. Creating a product like The One Dice means bringing together precision manufacturing, custom electronics, firmware, wireless connectivity, displays, LEDs, sensors, and software into a single device. Each system must be tested not only individually, but also as part of the complete experience.
There is still work ahead but each milestone brings us closer to full production.
Your support, patience, feedback, and enthusiasm have helped make that possible. We truly believe that what we're creating is something special, and we're incredibly excited to continue bringing The One Dice to life. While there is still work ahead, every milestone brings us one step closer to putting this experience into your hands. Thank you for being part of the journey. We can't wait for you to roll it for yourselves.
One of the features we’ve been working on behind the scenes is something we call Party Mode.
The idea is simple on the surface:
Multiple One Dice connected together through a single shared app experience.
But the reason we wanted to talk about it now is because this feature is actually far more advanced and technically demanding than it probably looks from the outside. From the beginning, The One Dice was never designed to just be a solo product sitting on somebody’s desk.
Designed Around Real Tables
One of the most important goals for us has been making sure The One Dice feels natural during actual play sessions. Just something that adds atmosphere, personality, and excitement to the experience you already love.
That means the system has been designed around:
Fast interactions
Clear readability
Shared visibility
Quick switching between players
Easy class/theme customization
Minimal interruption during gameplay
We know most sessions are already busy enough.
Nobody wants to spend 5 minutes navigating menus just to roll initiative.
So the philosophy has always been:
Shake → Roll → Enjoy
Class Identity During Multiplayer
Another thing we wanted to avoid was every player feeling visually identical.
So the system supports class-based visual identities and themes.
For example:
A necromancer-themed player can use darker visual effects and animations
A paladin-style setup might feel brighter and more radiant
A druid setup can feel more nature-driven and organic
A barbarian setup can feel heavier, more aggressive, more explosive
The goal isn’t just customization for the sake of customization.
It’s about identity at the table.
When someone rolls, it should feel like their dice.
Not just “a dice.”
Party Management & Companion Features
We’ve also been exploring party-focused systems inside the companion app.
Some of the things we’ve been prototyping include:
Party management systems
Shared roll history
Quick player switching
Multiple dice profiles
Different dice types (D4–D100)
Saved themes/loadouts
Fast access mode for gameplay sessions
The important thing here is that we’re trying to support real tabletop flow.
A lot of companion apps overcomplicate things.
We’re trying to reduce friction wherever possible.
Built Around Real Gameplay
One of the biggest focuses for us has been making sure Party Mode works naturally during actual sessions.
That means:
Fast reconnection
Minimal setup friction
Clear player assignment
Stable synchronization
Quick access during gameplay
Easy switching between players and dice
Nobody wants to spend 20 minutes configuring devices before a campaign session starts.
The experience needs to feel lightweight and intuitive.
That philosophy has shaped a lot of the decisions we’ve made so far.
The Goal Is Atmosphere, Not Complexity
This is an important distinction.
We are not trying to turn tabletop gaming into a complicated software experience.
That’s the opposite of what we want.
The goal is to enhance the atmosphere around the table while keeping the experience approachable and easy to use.
At the end of the day, people still want to:
sit down,
roll dice,
tell stories,
and enjoy the game with friends.
Everything else should support that experience — not get in the way of it.
Still In Active Development
As with many areas of the companion app and multiplayer systems, Party Mode is still actively being refined during development. Some functionality may evolve further post-campaign as we continue improving stability, usability, and overall player experience over time.
Right now, our biggest priority is making sure the foundation feels:
stable,
smooth,
immersive,
and genuinely enjoyable to use during real tabletop sessions.
As always, thank you all for the incredible support, ideas, feedback, and discussions.
Seeing how many people are excited about using The One Dice together with their groups has been genuinely motivating for the entire team ⚔️
Hi everyone, I hope you’re all doing well! A lot has been happening behind the scenes . We’re now deep into refining the product following our T0 samples, and overall we’re in a really strong position. Most of what we’re working on now comes down to fine tuning and improving the experience, rather than fixing major issues.
🎲 Rolling Behaviour – Making It Feel Right
One of the biggest areas we’ve been focusing on is how the dice actually rolls.
We explored increasing the internal weight by testing larger weighted inserts. Interestingly, this had very little impact on performance, which tells us the balance of the dice was already in a good place.
Where we did see a noticeable improvement was in the shape of the dice itself.
By subtly rounding the top and bottom edges, the roll feels:
more natural
more consistent
closer to what you’d expect from a traditional dice roll
This has been one of the most meaningful improvements so far, and we’ll be carrying this refinement forward into the next stage.
🔘 Button Feel Improvements
Another area we’ve made strong progress on is the button feel.
The earlier samples didn’t feel quite as responsive as we wanted, so we made small internal adjustments to the button mechanism.
The result is a much more positive, tactile press that feels significantly better and more consistent to use.
This is a real upgrade:
Small increase in pad height / engagement
Better tactile feedback
More consistent press
⚙️ Internal Components - What You’re Seeing
We’ve also included some images of internal components and test parts.
These include:
metal weighted inserts
internal structural parts
button assemblies
early component layouts
At this stage, a lot of these parts are:
prototype iterations
test variations
not final finishes
So they may look a bit rough or purely functional that’s completely normal for this phase.
What matters is that each of these parts is being tested and refined to improve:
overall performance
durability
feel in-hand
What’s Next
We’re now preparing for the next round of samples (T1), where these refinements will be implemented into the tooling. We’ll continue to keep you updated as we progress.
We wanted to share a quick update on where things are currently at with manufacturing.
For those unfamiliar with the terminology, T0 is the first version produced using the actual production tooling. This stage is where engineers review the parts in detail, test how everything fits together, and identify any improvements before moving forward to the next tooling revision.
Overall, the team has said they are really happy with where things are at this stage, with only a handful of relatively small adjustments needed before moving to the next iteration (T1).
Below is a breakdown of the main things that came out of this review.
Lid Improvements
One of the main areas identified was the charging case lid.
On the T0 samples the lid was slightly too tight, which made it harder to open and also meant it didn’t close over the dice as smoothly as intended.
The design team created a few revised prototypes and have now landed on a version that works much better. The fix only requires minor changes to the tooling before the next revision.
The only visible difference will be two very subtle raised areas on the sides of the lid. These act as natural points for your fingers so it is clearer where to open the case.
Iridescent Lid Finish
Another area the team reviewed was the iridescent finish on the lid.
In some lighting conditions it looks great and fairly subtle, but when the lid is closed the black dice underneath can make the finish appear much more intense and opaque than expected.
To test this further, the team has asked the factory to produce the effect using a different material process (a filler rather than a coating) so we can compare results on the next round of samples.
This will help determine which method gives the most consistent look.
Button Feel
The buttons on the T0 samples didn’t quite feel as tactile as intended.
The team has already prototyped a fix for this by adding small pads underneath the button gasket, which improves how the button engages and gives it a much more positive feel when pressed.
This change will now be implemented in the tooling for the next revision.
Drop Testing Results
The team also ran a series of drop tests to check the durability of the dice.
The samples were dropped from around 1.5 metres onto hard surfaces, including concrete, tarmac, and indoor flooring.
As you can see from some of the photos, the outer surface picked up a number of chips and scratches (especially from the tarmac tests). However, the important result is that:
• The dice did not crack or break • The structure remained intact • The internal components did not come apart
Even more importantly, the display face remained largely undamaged, which is a key durability area for the final product.
This type of testing is designed to push the product far beyond normal use, so seeing it survive these impacts is a really good sign.
Improving the roll behaviour
One area we’ve been looking at more closely is the rolling behaviour of the dice.
After reviewing the early samples, the team felt there was still some room for improvement. Because of that, they’ve been refining a few internal components and increasing the offset weight inside the dice to help improve how it rolls.
The goal here is simple: to make the roll feel as natural as possible.
Before committing these changes to the production tooling, the team is currently producing a new prototype with the updated internal weighting so it can be tested properly. Once those tests are complete, the results will inform the next tooling revision. We’ll share more updates on this as soon as testing is complete.
Surveys Going Out Soon
On a separate note, we’ve been finishing the final setup for the backer surveys.
Surveys will be going out next week, so please keep an eye on your inbox.
There’s no rush to complete them immediately, but they will allow you to confirm your details and selections.
A Quick Note on Tooling
As mentioned in the previous update, tooling is one of the longest and most careful parts of manufacturing.
Each stage involves reviewing parts, making refinements, and ensuring all the components work together correctly before moving to the next revision.
It can feel slow from the outside, but this is the stage where we make sure the final product is reliable and built to last. We’ll keep sharing updates as we move into the next tooling iteration.
The latest T0 sample of the charging case with the dice inside. This version is being reviewed for fit, finish, and overall usability before the next tooling revision.
The charging case opened to reveal the dice inside. One of the improvements identified at this stage was adjusting the lid so it closes more comfortably over the dice and opens more easily.
A close-up of the current T0 dice sample. At this stage the team reviews surface finish, materials, and how the different parts fit together.
A look inside the charging case showing where the dice sits during charging. Engineers review internal structure and alignment to ensure the parts assemble correctly in production.
One of the dice used during drop testing. The surface shows chips and scratches from repeated drops onto hard surfaces, but the structure of the dice remained intact.
A note on progress and timing
As we’ve mentioned before, tooling is one of the most important stages of the entire process. This is where the physical moulds are refined so that every part can be produced consistently and assembled correctly.
Because The One Dice is a fairly technical product with a lot of internal components, this stage involves a lot of testing, adjustments, and refinement. Small changes to one part can affect how others fit together, so the team carefully reviews each iteration before moving forward.
It can sometimes look quiet from the outside, but a lot of work happens behind the scenes during this phase. Parts are tested, samples are reviewed, adjustments are made, and new prototypes are produced to confirm improvements before committing them to tooling.
Right now our main focus is quality and reliability. We’re taking the time needed to make sure the components fit properly, the mechanisms feel right, and everything works together the way it should before moving forward to the next stage.
We’re not rushing this step, because getting it right here ensures the final product is consistent, durable, and built to the standard we want to deliver.
As always, thank you for your patience and continued support we’ll keep sharing updates as we move through each stage.
