Learn Braille with DOTS
To understand Braille, we need to take a look at how a Braille cell is structured. A Braille cell is made up of six dots, two columns of three dots. The dots are numbered from top to bottom, left to right (refer to the image below). Each combination of dots represents a number on the die face. Additionally, there is a ridged line on each die face which serves as the bottom of the Braille cell to provide an orientation points for the dots. If you look at a six-sided, the pips on the number six looks just like a Braille cell.
In Braille, the numbers 1-9, followed by the number 0, are made using the letters A-J respectively. To distinguish numbers from letters, Braille utilizes a number sign (#) in the cell proceeding the letter. To create numbers larger than one digit, a number sign (#) is followed by a series of cells with letters, one per cell. For example, the number 20 would use three cells: A number sign, the letter B (represents 2), and the letter J (represents 0). Our unique design does not use this standard way of numbering to keep the size of the dice smaller and less cluttered.
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Though it may take an extra moment for someone who is familiar with standard braille numbering to read our dice, once they learn the system it's quick to pick up on. Instead of using pairs of letters A-J for two digit numbers, we use letters K-T for numbers 11-20. Letters K-T are the 11th-20th letters of the alphabet are the same as letters A-J, with the addition of dot 3. The person using our dice would be able to count through the alphabet to the letter K (11) or just do letter A (1) plus 10 (from dot 3) to get 11.
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To simplify the numbers on the dice to one cell, many of our dice do not have the number sign (#) on the faces. Most often, the braille dice we have are used in tabletop roleplaying games that rely on numbers instead of letters. Even though there is no signifier, the person rolling the dice will know they are meant to be numbers. Orientation matters with braille, so for dice that do not have the number sign (#) there is a dashed edge on one side of the face. This serves as an orientation edge or underline as seen in printed numbers 6 and 9, showing which way to read the face. Below is a quick reference chart to help you learn the letters, and the numbers they represent on our braille dice!
