Bits, Please!
Bits, Please! is a video series dedicated to 3d printed board game inserts, custom components, expansions, miniature painting, and general pimpage.
Episode 1 heralds the arrival of my first 3D resin printer, and the steps my wife Cheryl and i took to vent the stinky smells out our bathroom window.
In Episode 2, i use the resin printer to generate some lovely little walnut-shaped resource holders for Everdell, and i try my hand at sanding, painting, and finishing a 3D printed object.
Episode 3 sensibly asks “why own one 3D printer, when you can own two at twice the price?” i put my new FDM printer to stunning use by printing and polishing a stunning Lost Ruins of Arnak insert, along with a resin-printed game clock and first player token.
Episode 4 is a wild ride through 3d printing topics, including using slicing software, generating rafts and skirts, splitting up oversized pieces in Blender, painting pieces, and modifying prints to suit your tastes and needs, all with Keyflower as the test subject.
In Episode 5, we tackle a board game that was born to have a proper insert: A Feast for Odin, with its roughly fifty-thousand cardboard, chits and absolutely no F’s. This episode covers more methods to cut down oversized models, including using Blender, and a nice zippy method in Prusa Slicer.
The focus of Episode 6 is a tutorial explaining how to remove text from an STL file using Blender, and then how to stamp your own text into a model to further customize it. 3D printed inserts for On Mars and Praga Caput Regni serve as examples.
Episode 7 kicks off a special 2-parter where Ryan puts a 10w diode laser cutter through its paces, producing Nights Around a Table crests and self-portaits, while figuring out if he can safely run the smoky machine indoors in the chilly Canadian NAaT HQ. Enjoy a special appearance by the Son of God in snack form.
With a few warmup projects under his belt, Ryan sets the laser cutter to producing custom board game meeples for Everdell and totem pawns for Tzolk’in, as well as some googie home decor for the new board game room Cheryl’s been working on.
The Teotihuacan big box insert was so poorly produced that it made the game a chore to play. Leave it to good board game Samaritan js500 to design a beautiful insert that can teach us all (and the publishers) a few tricks about thoughtful storage design. Watch as Ryan’s new 3d printer comes in clutch.
