I made a pair of wooden stick dice! 😀 Yay! I’m so pleased with how they came out. And DIY wooden dice are way easier to make than I thought: All you need is some scrap wood and some hand tools.

I needed a pair of stick dice in order to play chaupar. A while ago, I sewed a fabric pachisi board. Pachisi is an Indian board game which is played with 6 cowrie shells. But chaupar – the royal version of Pachisi – is played with a pair of stick dice.

Stick or long dice have just 4 sides instead of 6. Stick dice are either marked 1, 2, 5, 6 or 1, 3, 4, 6. Here are some pictures of stick dice: Ivory and bone stick dice and wooden, bone and brass stick dice – I love the brass stick dice! 😀 Aren’t they just so beautiful? I’m thinking about making a pair of brass stick dice as well. 😉

You’ll need:

• square wood dowel rod or similar scrap wood – I used an 8 mm dowel rod
• handsaw
• fine wood rasp and sandpaper
• drill bit
• pencil

Using a handsaw, cut the wood. My wooden dice are 6 cm long, but you can make the dice longer or shorter. If you prefer, you can also make regular cubic dice instead of long dice. Just make all sides the same length. Smooth the wooden dice with a fine wood rasp and sandpaper.

Then mark the dice: I marked the dice with 1, 2, 5, 6 but you can also mark the dice with 1, 3, 4, 6. To make the indentations, twist a small drill bit between your fingers. And stain the wood dice with steel wool and vinegar if you like.