You know what’s lacking in the modern, virtual version of Monopoly? If you answered “Game features to stop you from getting bored” or “Please God no, not another game of Monopoly,” then you’d be right. But those aren’t the answers I’m looking for. The answer I’m looking for is “dice.”
Now, this is (almost) fixed. The SmartRoll is a pair of dice [1] which communicate with your iPad using Bluetooth and let you roll real dice for virtual board games.
Except you can’t play Monopoly with them – yet. The dice come with three games (Trivia, Craps and Music Challenge), and send their results to the games automatically.
What’s that, you say? How can a dice loaded (ha!) with electronics possibly be perfectly weighted? Because the specs say so, that’s why: “Evenly balanced for truly random results” claims the product page. I’m not sure about that. Is the maker willing to guarantee that any and every coin-cell battery you use will have the exact same weight and weight distribution as the original? And that you will insert it correctly?
Still, there are some neat features that real dice can’t manage: they flash when in motion, and you’ll never have to add them up.
The price? Who knows – they aren’t yet for sale. But if you’re a developer you can sign up for the SDK kit and get a pair to play with.
Source: Scosche
Thanks: Mark!
- If you’re thinking about schooling me on the correct usage of the terms “die” and “dice,” don’t. ↩
