The flexibility of Chessex’s process allowed me to offer a set of four dice with three different “1″ pips. For what this did to the cost of each dice set I felt I needed offer a sheet of games you could play with four dice or less as compensation. I looked up traditional games, choosing the most theme appropriate ones, like “Shut the Box,” and “Liar’s Dice.” I wrote up my rules for the selected games from various sources in books and on the internet, often combining the rules of similar games, and naturally replaced the generic pronouns with “peh.”

For these instruction booklets I wanted to recreate the feeling of those found in card sets and pocket games. the ones with small, compacted text on onionskin paper. After some experimentation, I discovered sumi practice rice paper worked the best. I needed to tape it to another, stiffer sheet of paper in order to run it through my printer, but it did beautifully. Trimming rice paper with an Exacto blade can be a right pain as it often snags and then tears, even with a brand new blade. Luckily I had discovered the wonder that is a rotary cutter which does a clean and quick job of it.

Among the games I wanted to include was Tabula, the precursor of Backgammon, which needed fifteen counters for two players. Which, naturally, I felt I should provide. Besides a few of the other games required counters for various purposes. The glass gems used for vase decoration ended up being a satisfactory and cost effective solution.

A set of cleromancy instructions also seemed in order. As with the games, I pulled from various sources and shaped each fortune-telling method to my liking. One of the methods of casting called for a circle to help interpret the shape of the answer. It was a perfect opportunity to incorporate the circular symbol of Book 1, the labyrinth. (for Book 2 it’s a spiral, Book 3, a wheel and Book 4, concentric circles) While experimenting with the layout, I wondered what printing it on the back of the instructions would look like. I decided it looked good.

I found many candidates at a variety of sites but was reluctant to commit to 12 to 24 bags before seeing a sample. Luckily I came across U.S. Box where I could buy individual samples or various items. I chose the black fringed faux suede for the feel, size and vagabond appeal. I might not have chosen something so whimsical without being able to handle it first.

A box was needed to hold the whole kit and caboodle. After much searching and comparing, I ended up finding the absolutely perfect box back on U.S. Box., a red and black jewelry box, square with a snap closure. (It was almost like the manufacturer had me specifically in mind.)

I had already planned to make a custom insert to hold everything separately and securely in whatever box I ended up with. Quite a few prototypes were made in plain white paper before I worked it out. Then I created a final dieline in Illustrator which I then printed directly onto black sheets on Arjowiggins’ Curious Skin paper, a very tactile and strong paper I always wanted to find a reason to use. To get the cleanest fold, I lightly scored the lines with the back of an Exacto knife tip before folding.

Finally comes the branding of the box. The labels were made by simply printing black on the black Skin paper, inspired by the effect I saw when printing the insert die lines. As the ink isn’t fully absorbed by the paper (which creates the effect), I need wait a day before trimming them out. I then adhere it to the top of the box by spraying the back with adhesive, using a makeshift guide to help me center it.