All Rolled Up Review
So what does every gamer need to play their games...?
Dice, Pens, Paper, Imagination...
I know I didn't get a good shot of the imagination, but that's because it's overworked and in for rehabilitation...
What else does every gamer need as a result of needing to carry around
these essential supplies? In ages gone by, a backpack with a million pockets in
it, a small pouch with space enough for just the dice you were using, and a pencil
case full of pencils, pens, and anything else that just happened to be in the “Essential”
category at the time...
I’ve tried loads of things over the years, from larger pencil cases to
the boxes that Gears of War came in, to washing bags loaded on different
levels. Good enough for carrying things
around in, but as a person who likes things to be in order (and yes, I am
painfully aware of my own OCD in this matter), and as a person who likes to sit
to a table and have everything immediately to hand, I was always looking for
something that had everything all at the same time and nicely put together so I
knew where I could find everything.
Enter All Rolled Up, Stage Left
I admit that I didn’t get the idea when I first saw them, seemed like a
modified pencil case, nothing particularly special. What drew my attention was the Chalk board on
the of the specialised cases, where you could immediately have an erasable
section to draw things on if they were needed.
At that point, I saw the utility of it, and resolved to get one. Problem was that I didn’t see any I liked, so
I got in touch with the creators, Fil and Paul Baldowski, and asked if they’d
considered taking a commission on one.
As it turns out, I wasn’t the first one to consider asking for
something special, they listened to what I was after, came up with a few ideas,
and within days, they were on the case.
I picked it up at last years Furnace (Brilliant roleplaying convention
up in Sheffield every October), and proceeded to fill it with my regular GM’s kit.
And for a time, it was good...
Then came Dragonmeet, and someone also thought my All Rolled Up with
all the precision dice and hex paper and nice pens in it, was also very nice...
And so I came to find myself needing a new one, and with all the
organising for Expo, I didn’t get the order in till about a month ago, and what
I wanted was something that complimented the game I’m making, so I put the word
in, and a month later, this is what I got.
Obligatory loading picture...
From the back, with the map of the natural world printed on it (I have
no idea how they managed this).
From the front, with the two individual quest logo’s and the custom
design on the pouches so I only carry two pens, but two pads as well.
What you get for your money is a handcrafted heavy duty game accessory, reinforced to take a good amount of Gamer abuse, this isn't something that's going to fall apart within a year (or ten for that matter), it's a quality accessory that you buy one of and then you use it for the rest of your gaming career...
All Rolled up appeals to me on a number of levels, I like being
organised, I like having everything in one place to pick up and go with, and I
like that it’s unique to me. It comes in
a variety of shapes and sizes, from the Tiny ones good for just the dice that
you need for the game you’re playing, to the huge ones that convention GM’s
need on a regular basis.
Most of all, I like that the people making it care about the product
they’re making, they like the challenge of making new things, and they take an interest in what you want, the above ARU turned up with a compass wheel tag on the top, wasn't asked for, but they knew that it would compliment the finished product, found one and put it on there. They moving
things forwards at a steady pace rather than running headlong at it, though I'm sure this would be a worldwide hit, I wonder if the care and attention could be sustained if everything went mainstream, and I'm absolutely sure that the finished product would not be up to the standard that Fil and Paul keep themselves to.
You can find these on http://allrolledup.co.uk/ and if you can't find one you like, ask...
and finally, after thinking yesterday about the buy/don't buy thing, I've changed my mind on how to rank things, these are my opinions, nothing more nothing less, If I haven't given people enough information to make their own choices, then I've not done the review right...
This? I bought it :)
