Scrabble - Modern take with self-centering/self-standing tiles

thingiverse

**Major Update to all files 9/31/2019** I had a few things I wanted to change in the original design. As the first version was made within Microsoft 3D Builder (don't get me started on how had that was), I finally sat down and taught myself enough in fusion to be dangerous. The new designs were completely redesigned within Fusion 360 so future changes should be much easier to do. While in there, I also tweaked the letter tiles so if your printer is REALLY dialed in, you can get a pretty good print on a stock FDM with a .4mm nozzle. Just lay the pieces on the side like you would on a table during playing. This lets the letter and point value be printer with z-axis resolution instead of x/y resolution. I still need to redesign the cover for the game, and I made changes to the ball bearing track and the cut board to allow for putting in the ball bearings after the board is full assembled and then plugging the insertion hole with a small plug. That plug is being redesigned as it was a little off when I tested. The benefit is that I then was able to also include a non-cut board for those that have a 400+mm bed print area. **Original Post** A few years ago I came across a custom scrabble board where the wood tiles were designed to stand on their own without the need of a rack. This was done by making each tile into a small pyramid and then routing out the game board to accept the tiles similar to filling up a waffle. Making it out of wood without a CNC would be very time consuming and hard to get each tile and each corresponding hole in the board to match. Instead, I went about designing the entire game to be 3D printed. Unfortunately, I had issues with designing the board and tiles in a way that looked good without having to be huge (the little tile scores are VERY small and hard to get that detail from a typical FDM printer). About six months ago I decided to get a cheap resin printer and after a few test pieces, I realized I could finally make the Scrabble board I have been thinking about at a scale equal to the real game and still have readable parts. This is the first design iteration of that final game. **Note, that you will need access to both an FDM and a SLA printer to successfully make this game at the given scale.** Each tile and insert file has the quantity needed within the file name. All board and cover pieces only need a single print for each. Tiles and Inserts should be done on a resin printer to get maximum resolution and clarity of the letters and numbers. The four board pieces and four cover pieces can be printed with a traditional FDM printer. All large board pieces are cut to fit on a typical sized printer. The board and cover pieces have small alignment holes on the sides where 1.75mm filament can be placed to help with gluing the pieces together. I am also working to have an uncut board file, but that would require a build area that is outside the scale of most people's printers (won't fit on a CR-10 size bed in the ideal print orientation). I also designed the board with the bonus scoring pieces as inserts so you can customize the board to fit different playing styles (we like to play where the person with the most bonus tiles collected at the end of the game gets a 25 point bonus - this motivates people to play on the double word and double letter tiles quicker than in normal strategic games). The only non 3D printed part is the small 5/16 inch Diameter Delrin Plastic Balls that are inserted in the board bottom to serve as a lazy-susan (available through Amazon, Ebay, and many other online retailers). This allows the board to be easily rotated on a table for whichever player is currently placing a word. Also, the cover has a small round groove designed in it so the bearings serve as the positive stop to keep the cover in place. The shallow square in the top is designed for a single, typical post-it note pad (3"x3" size) and there is a shallow place to put a pencil. All letter and bonus scoring tiles fit in the board with the cover over so the game is completely self-sustaining. would also work well for car rides as the tiles naturally align on the board and do not easily fall out if the board is kept relatively horizontal.