Introduction: Horse Race Gambling Dice Game
This project combines a number of hobbies I like to do from the primary woodworking/finishing of the game board, to include 3D printing, model painting, and CAD designing.
My social group of friends introduced me to this dice game where players gather around a table to socialize while playing a game of chance to win money from each other - all in good fun! You don't have to gamble real money (use poker chips) or just play for pennies! It's all up to you!
It has been around for a long time and works by moving playing horses down the track based on the odds of rolling their silk number. For example, there is only one combination to roll a "2" or a "12" so these horses only have to move or roll this number three times for a win, but the most common roll for a "7" has to be rolled SEVENTEEN times for a win! The exact rules of play can be easily found on the internet - just search "Horse race Dice Game Rules" copy and paste it into your own word document for a set of instructions for others to read before the game starts. I also show how i did this in the pictures.
Most versions are no bigger than a larger Kitchen cutting board, but it can be a bit hard for 5 or more players to really see what's going on the board during the game. So I decided to make a game that pretty much covers the table for all to have a clear view of the action. Since I had a lot of wood scraps, extra casing trim and really all of the materials on hand, the cost of this project for me was quite minimal. In fact I think I only had to buy the hardware as I have a resin 3D printer and woodshop at my disposal. With a little help from a friend who has a cabinet shop, I was able to make this "Cadillac" of a gameboard come to life. Like any project, the more you put into it, the more you can get out of it.
Fair warning about the size of this game board... it is quite large with overall dimensions of ~ 30" x 20" x 4" and it weighs approximately 10 lbs, but the gameplay is second to none when compared to purschased and much smaller boards. If you have access to these materials you can make a great game for not a whole lot of money!
Lastly, to make everything easier, if you just go here... you can get all of the documentation, the decal sheet information for ready printing and the 3D print files for all the accessories here...
Horse Race Dice Game Pieces DIGITAL FILE - Etsy
It'll make life much more easier than creating it for yourself from scratch.
Supplies
You may have a lot of these supplies listed already at your disposal from past projects. I encourage you to do what I did in using up materials already at hand becasue not only will it greatly lower your cost, but it will give you that much more satisfaction by putting them to good use. You may be able to get most of these materials probably by looking in your shop's junk drawer or at a second hand shop like Goodwill or a Restore!
Bicycle Playing Cards - $5.39 Amazon.com: Bicycle Rider Back Playing Cards, Standard Index, Poker Cards, Premium Playing Cards, Red & Blue, 2 Count (Pack of 1) : Toys & Games
Casino Dice - $12 Amazon.com : Cyber-Deals Wide Selection of 19mm Craps Dice - Authentic Las Vegas Casino Table-Played (Flamingo (Blue Polished)) : Toys & Games
Cup Hooks - $1.89 Amazon.com: The Hillman Group 9161 Brass Cup Hooks, 1/2-Inch, 4-Pack : Industrial & Scientific
Brass Carrying Handle $15 Heavy Duty Cast Brass Drawer Bail Pull | Centers: 4 1/2" | Lifting Handle for Antique Cabinet Doors, Dresser Drawer, Chest, Box, Desk | Reproduction Furniture Hardware | UA-830-PB - Amazon.com
Brass Knob - $4.35 Hickory Hardware P3053-PB Williamsburg Collection Knobs, 1-1/4 Inch, Polished Brass, 1 Count (Pack of 1) - Cabinet And Furniture Knobs - Amazon.com
Drawer Latch - $8 Keenkee 4 PCS Cabinet Latch Double Roller Catch Hardware for Cupboard Closet Kitchen Cabinet Door Latches and Catches, Black Nickel - Amazon.com
Testors Model Paints - $21 Amazon.com: Testors 9146XT Promotional Enamel Paint Set( Packaging may vary) : Arts, Crafts & Sewing
1/8" Round Brass Rod - $67 Amazon.com: Sutemribor Brass Solid Round Rod Lathe Bar Stock, 1/8 Inch in Diameter 14 Inches in Length (4 PCS) : Industrial & Scientific
Clear waterslide Decal Sheets - $10 Amazon.com: Printers Jack Water Slide Decal Paper Inkjet Clear 10 Sheets 8.5 x 11 inches Premium Water Slide Transfer Paper Clear Transparent Printable Waterslide Paper for Tumblers, Mugs, Glasses DIY : Office Products
Green Felt Sheets - $8 Amazon.com: Morcheiong 12 Pcs Self Adhesive Felt Sheet Soft Felt Sheets with Adhesive Backing for Sewing Craft and Art Project(7.9" x 11.8"/20x30cm)- Green : Arts, Crafts & Sewing
1/2" Plywood or MDF (For the game box -Your choice bought at local DIY store.)
3-1/4" Wood Trim / Casing (Your choice on wood Species - bought local at DIY store.)
Wood Trim Stain - color and brand your choice. May use a tung oil, but need a hard clear coat for the playing surface to secure decals and durability.
Polyurethane Clear Coat (Spray or brush) Minwax 33333000 Polycrylic Protective Finish Spray for Wood, Clear Satin, 11.5 oz. Aerosol Can - Spray Paints - Amazon.com
Scrap leather or use the green felt for under the playing pieces.
Step 1: Cut the Wood Pieces
Study the layout pictures carefully to see how all of the dimensions come together. Everything in the layout is in Millimeters for easy math. You are going to basically be building a box with a drawer that slides into it and then triming out the sides for appearances only sake. You DON'T have to add the trim around the outside, I just chose to do it because I had the trim leftover from building my house. Trim can be very pricey but a way to lower this cost is to go to a millwork supplier and ask for discontinued trim profiles and maybe get solid maple trim 3-1/4" high for $1/foot! All the pieces will go into the parts drawer so if you scale this down, then you must reverse engineer the pieces to fit in the drawer or you may be just "throwing them in the drawer" and risk damaging the parts during transport.
I chose oak and black walnut to deliniate the track lanes. You CAN use a piece of laminated veneered plywood and paint the lanes on the finished surface as an option. But I chose to make this a high end game, so I cut the strips to oversize and glued them all up with wood glue and clamps.
To facillitate nicely cut straight stips of oak and the very think black walnut lane delineators, I used a feather board on my table saw. This holds the wood tightly up agains tthe fence while cutting the strips to ensure a parallel cut strip. If you haven't got one, this might be the project to either make one or buy one. They are a valuable tool for woodworking. Or, be sure to use 2 - push sticks: one to push the piece through the saw and the other to hold the piece against the fence.
Safety tip: Of sourse use hearing and eye protection, and I only have the blade elevated just above the wood's top surface as this minimizes grain tearout on the underside of the board.
Step 2: Glue Up the Wood
Sorry I didn't take pictures of this step but it should be pretty straight forward.
I glued the main track lanes first using pipe clamps in an alternating configuration to minimize warping of the glue up. This means the first clamp bar up, then the next one down, then the last bar up again. This helps the clamps pull equally in a planar configuration. Wipe off all the oozing glue from the joints as much as possible beofre it sets with a paper towel.
I used a standard wood glue like Gorilla or Elmer's brand. I have found that a urethane glue is far too messy and wetting oak raises the grain needlessly when regular glue works just great.
After a full day cure time, I then cut the main track board to size than glued up the wood boarder pieces around it. Again alternating clamp configurations. Glue up ONE track boarder piece at a time and you will get a much flatter single board piece in the end vs having multiple boarder pieces trying to glue up with too many glamps going in opposite directions and working against each other.
In spite of all this forethought, of course the board wasn't laying flat and I had dried excess glue drips at every joint.
Step 3: Sand Board & Drill Holes
I then took an orbital sander and sanded off the heavy glue, but the board was still significantly warped. I then took the board to my cabinet maker friend who then ran the board (nomial 3/4" thick but warped about 1/4" on the SHORT width side) through a surface sander until it was completely flat The final dimension ended up to be just over 5/8" thick.
IMPORTANT STEP: To layout the holes for each of the horses, first print out the horses to the desired size / scale. Then use a horse as a layout jig to evenly space out the number of moves each horse's lane has to have for the rolls required to win. For example, horse #2 wins on the third roll, so we only need TWO holes on the track and one hole on the other side of the finish line. This means the lane has only two holes that divides the LENGTH of the lane into thirds. If the lane length is 300mm, then you would drill at 100 and 200 mm (enample only). You divide up each lane accordingly to the number of sections the horse has to run in that lane. In lane 9, the horse wins on the 11th roll so you must divide up the lane into ten equal sections. You only have to do these layout calculations for lanes 2 through 7, then use a t- square to ensure symmetry of all the holes with lane 7 being the line of symmetry. That is lane 12 has the same layout as lane 2.
I then did the hole layout in pencil and tripple checked I had all the right holes accounted for before drilling the board through with a 1/8" bit on a drill press.
Be SURE to know what each hole will be used for...
- Proper layout and NUMBER of holes for each horse's running lenght (rolls of the dice).
- Holes for the "Disqualified - DQ'd" horses in the DQ stable.
- Holes for the "Pay In" Markers, so you can easily determine the pay in multiplier for a particular horse.
- Holes for the starting gate poles, the finish line poles and the odds board. Note I made the odds board pins removable so the board can be either passed around the table or affixed to the game board at the end of the track.
- Holes for the Side rails (optional).
Use a BRAD POINT 1/8" drill to prevent grain tear out when drilling the surface.
Step 4: Build the Game Box
Again, study the dimensions for the game box in the pictures provided and adjust to any final dimensions to get everything to fit. You cut the game board to size then build an inner box rim below it so the overall dimensions can be covered by your trim's height. So build the box upside down with the fourth side cut out for the drawer. Nail and glue it together then screw the cleats to the game top leaving the bottom plywood panel to be the last piece cut to fit within the trimmed out box.
I wanted the top game board to fit under the trim piece for a finished / clean look so I took the trim and cut out the back of the trim. This was really dumb, as it was very hard to hold the trim completely vertical and I had cut it square. Said differently, it would have been far easier to just cut strips 1/4' x 1/4" and glued them flush to the top of the trim for a "false rabbit" joint, or to have just undercut it on a router table (which I had sold years prior - that would've been handy here).
I used a 1/2 plywood but i imagine a MDF box would work ok.
To ensure structural rigidity, I added 3/4 x 3/4" cleats under the game surface on the three sides and smaller pieces along the drawfer front side. I aslo made up four triangular cleats for the corners from scrap 3/4" plywood.
I used glue and a pneumatic nailer to assemble the box rim frame, but I used wood screws to attach the game board to the cleats to allow for floating. The bottom was added AFTER the rim was nailed on and cut to fit.
I made the drawer from 1/2" plywood and reverse nailed the trim onto the front drawer side. Make the drawer AFTER the main box is built to account for slight dimensional errors. Once the drawer was fitted I added the drawer glides to the bottom with screws for ANY adjustability if needed.
A single piece of 1/4" thick luan plywood completes the box and drawer's bottom.
Step 5: 3D Print the Jockeys & Playing Pieces
Time to 3D print the accessories parts! I used a filament printer for the "purse" trays, handle shim, drawer glides, game feet, and the odds board due to their size and lack of detail. The horses, dealer marker, pay in markers, Starting and Finish line posts, I printed them on a resin printer using "ABS LIKE" resin for the toughest material I could find. Resin prints tend to be very brittle compared to Filament prints, so spend a little more here to get the durability as these pieces may be dropped and broken. I broke a few horses before I shifted to a tougher resin. Go here to get the STL files:
Once printed, clean off the support material, prime and paint. Priming helps prevent chipping and really makes for a good job in durablity and smoothing out the larger rinted pieces. Do not paint the drawer glides, let them be slippery for the drawer to ride on. I used Rustoleum paint for the purses and odds board, but testors model paints for everything else.
Now for a small challenge... My original idea was to just drill a short pin into the bottom of the horse and into the center support to its belly, but this kept breaking the base due to over zealous players grabbing the horses to move the pieces, so I realized I needed the pin to go up and into the horses' body. So change of plan...
The horses have a center support post to them but this now is only to serve as a guide to drill up and into the horses' body for a 1/8" brass rod to be inserted into him and CA glued. I use a 1/16" bit to drill up from the bottom of the base, following the post as best I could, follwed by the 1/8" drill and cleaned up the remaining misalignment plastic with a fine file. The brass rod extends 1/2" beyond the base.
The Dealer marker is design inspired from the towers at Churchill Downs, a famous race track in Kentucky, USA. The marker helps keep people feeling engaged in the game by passing this around and keeps the dealing of the cards fair as the cards are not evenly distrubuted depending upon the number of players. By ensuring the deal continues to rotate correctly, all players get the same amount of cards over the entire gaming session.
The odds board helps people to understand the probability of rolling their preferred horse's number. It adds to the excitement and it can be either passed around the table or mounted on the game board. The horse's names are up to you but i chose names to refelct their silk number in a creative way.
Step 6: Paint & Decal the Jockey Silks & Accessories
Prime all of the 3D pieces and paint the jockeys with a vaiety of colors for easy identification during the gameplay.
Use a good quality enamel paint for durability. Testors is a great brand and covers well.
Not all horses are of the exact same hue so mix in a little black or white to adjust the chestnut brown most thoroughbreds are in color. I also painted the jockeys with differing complexions to make it interesting.
After they are dry, I added the waterslide decals and then secured them with three coats of poly.
Look at the photos for reference of the other accessories such as the Post and Finish line, as I researched Churchill Downs for their schemes and mimiced them here.
Use some green felt and glue it to the bottom of the horse pieces, the dealer marker, Odds board, pay in markers, start and finish posts for a smooth fit to the board. Also I glued felt to the inside edge of the trim surrounding the game surface and on the inside of the drawer front.
Step 7: Stain the Trim & Track
To get the fine detail of the board stain around the perimeter of the track, I used a small modelling brush and CAREFULLY applied the stain only to the side boarder pieces of the game board up to the very edges where the boarder pieces meet the track. To add insurance to not getting stain on the track portion, I used painter's tape to mask it all off HOWEVER I did not rely on it to prevent underbleed.
Take your time and be careful not to spill the stain on the track or you'll have a devil of a time trying to remove it from the open grain of the oak. As they say, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!!!
Stain your trim on all sides to ensure complete coverage, and then when dry, poly the top edge and front one coat. Let dry completely.
Step 8: Trim Out the Game Box
I used a power miter saw and cut the trim to match up to the sides of the main game box. By using a pneumatic nailer, it was super easy to get a tight pit to the box with tight miters. I did use glue on the backs and at the 45 degree joints, followed up with colored wood putty. Once completely assembled, I lightly sanded the trim, followed by two more coats of polyurethane.
Step 9: Decal the Track & Clear Coat
This part of the project is completely discretionary for the look you want to achieve.
I attached pictures of the font I used as found on a font generator site that gives my project an "old time" look. I don't have a laser cutter / engraver so I opted for decorative decal sheets. I transfered the fonts to a jpg image and then used an ipad "Procreate" software app to add colors to the script. I then transferred the resulting image into a MSWord file for printing on a clear waterslide decal sheet.
Once printed on a decal sheet, if an INK JET, you have to clearcoat the sheet first or the water with cause the print to run when you go to apply them to the board. i believe a laser jet does not have this issue but i never tried it.
Of course, after the board is completely stained and ready...Only apply the decals to the board when there is at least two coats of polyurethane on it so they adhere and lay flat. Then follow up the finishing of the board with multiple coats of clearcoat to secure the decals to the board. I did FOUR coats for durability.
Once completely dry go back and take a 1/8" dill bit and MANUALLY clean out all of the poly that dripped into every hole. If you don't have a pin vise to hold the drill bit, use a small vice grips to hold onto the drill as it will be tough to turn it by hand. Test fit all the holes with each horse in each lane.
You can now add on all the hardware of the drawer knob, the carrying handle, a name plaque if you made one, etc.
Step 10: Build the Parts Tray
The parts tray really has only two design considerations to watch out for - the overall height so it can clear the game top's underside and bottom panel, and the length, to ensure you can get all of the pieces in the drawer. The width can be adjusted to fit, so build the main box and then the drawer. Note my drawer has a wear spot on the far end corner where it slightly hits the underside of the game board. I sanded this down but I would rsther have it tighter and flopping around.
After the tray is built I glued a 1/8" thin foam to the floor of the drawer and then used 1/4" thick EVA mat foam for cut outs to secure the playing peices. I used a utility knife and an exacto blade to cut the foam. To cut these profiles out as perfect as possible, I used a cardboard template and kept testing the shape on scrap foam until I was assured it could hold each piece in tightly - especiallythe odd shaped horses. To ensure the pieces would not fall out, I then added a cover piece of foam that is held in place by a large rubber band and secured with 4 cup hooks that hold it tight against the pieces. Nothing moves in the drawer while in transport.
Step 11: Sew the Carrying Case
I got a cover idea from what is used on some electrical guitar amplifiers. The bag just gets pulled down and around the game and closed up with the help of velcro strips.
The final step of a cover bag is certainly optional but since I use this as a travelling game to my friends social events, I figured why not protect this from knicks and sctratches if I have the materials?
I am not a sewing skilled person by any reall stretch of the imagination, but I was able to layout the heavy cotton cloth around the game and make enough satisfactory marks and cuts to ensure I could envelope the game with margin for error. I then cut a handle hole and added velcro to secure it closed on the bottom. Now I can put it in my vehicle and know it wont get scratched up.