Bronson’s Dice Review of HYMGHO Dragon Dice which was firstly released on Facebook Goblin Dice Hoard, we got the author's authorization to publish here in our blog.
SELLER:
HYMGHO is a manufacturer based in China that recently joined the Goblin Dice Hoard Facebook group and shared their product images for us to see. All three of the following sets are from this manufacturer. HYMGHO’s website can be found here. HYMGHO is a manufacturer of dice, not a reseller. If you want more of a background on them, click on their website. I’m getting antsy to talk about the dice.
DISCLAIMER: I purchased ONE of these sets; specifically, the sterling silver set. The other two sets were sent to me for free for being the shop’s first customer. In NO WAY am I endorsed by HYMGHO, nor have they paid for this review. I am brutally picky, and it will show.
Let’s get to the brass tacks here, shall we?
Set #1: Sterling Silver, Hollow Dragon Set
First impressions were good here. Everything was packaged nicely and safely. Out of the three sets I received, this is the set I am most impressed with. Because it’s jewelery grade .925 sterling silver (which means it’s 92.5% silver by weight), it takes the shape of the dragon inlay like nothing else will. Sterling silver can also be cleaned in a normal jewelry cleaner, so I’m not concerned about fingerprints. The details are crisp and clean. The entire reason I’m uploading this to a google doc / google drive folder is so I can dodge Facebook’s garbage image compression. Compressed images will not do these sets justice. The details on these dice are gorgeous, and even in my pictures, I can’t really capture just how nice they look.
The weights of each die on these two hollow sets are starkly varied. The d20 is very light, and the d% and d6 are heavier. I don’t really have a problem with that, it’s just something to note for the purpose of managing expectations. As the website states, they are also larger than a standard size dice set. This is obviously done so you can see more detail in the intricate inlay. Ensure you look at their dimensions before buying, otherwise you may receive them and realize that they don’t fit in your dice vault.
I have two nitpicks to get out of the way before I score these. The first is that the sterling silver was polished well, but not perfectly. There are a few minor marks, presumably from the cast. Honestly, this is totally fine with me. I’ve never gotten a set from anyone that didn’t have slight marks on it. It seems like it would be impossible to perfectly polish a set like this, and the marks aren’t bad enough to make the set anything but absolutely stunning. The only reason I stated this quirk as a nitpick is because I didn’t want anyone reading this review to be disillusioned in any way on the surface finish.
The second nitpick is related to the overall shaping on the dice. As you can see in some of the pictures, the shape’s structures are not perfectly straight. It’s not enough to cause the dice to become malformed or misshapen, but you can tell there’s a little bit of bend / sway in some of the edge pieces. If you’re a perfectionist with OCD tendencies, this may bother you. Again, not enough to make me concerned or regret buying these. It’s very minor.
Final impressions are incredibly positive. This is the set I’m probably subconsciously most critical of, as they’re the $200 set that I bought. Honestly, I’d buy them again. They are by far the most beautiful dice set I have seen, let alone own. I’m still deciding on whether or not I’m going to roll them in a game regularly.
See the google drive folder I linked for more pictures.
My Rating: 9.5/10, would buy again. These dice are gorgeous, and all my friends are drooling at the pictures.
Set #1: Gold Finish, Red Numbers, Hollow Dragon Set
First impressions of these dice are equally as positive as the sterling silver set. It’s probably the same mold / die, so I’ll only talk about the differences from the first set. The details in the silver set were a little more defined, but these are still fantastically clear and well done. I think that’s just an effect of how well sterling silver takes detail, and why it’s so frequently used for jewelry. I didn’t notice any of the deformity / bending in this set that was very slightly apparent on the sterling silver set, either.
The coloring on the numbers is VERY neat. It’s probably the neatest colored number metal dice set I’ve ever seen in person. For having very fine lines, there are absolutely no paint runs or errors. I’m pretty impressed with that. The gold itself is also a beautiful color, and there were no spots where any coloration was missing. A good consistent finish is very important to me, and this set delivered in spades.
See the google drive folder I linked for more pictures.
My Rating: 10/10. I might build a gold dragonborn just so I can flex this set. They’re exactly what I wanted.
Set #3: Blue Enamel Fill, Solid Dragon Set.
First impressions... these bois are T H I C C. As I have stated before, in order to get the details so clear on these dice, HYMGHO made them bigger. They’re made of a zinc alloy like most metal sets, which is fairly dense. It really wasn’t a stark adjustment with these dice until I reviewed this set because the cage / hollow d20s were very light. This sucker is a solid hunk of metal; tabletops, beware. However, I don’t actually care very much that they’re bigger. I think it’s pretty neat to have some oversized sets.
I have to nitpick a bit here as well, too. The coloring on this set does creep onto some of the detail, and the dice are all a bit busy. The background of the dragon inlay is a terrain-map pattern, which I find VERY cool. This does cause the die face to look very crowded from a distance. When you look up close, everything is crystal clear. I find that this coloration drowning some of the dragon is lessened in impact a bit because it’s translucent, but they buyer should be aware that this is something they will see when they receive the dice.
Second nitpick: For some reason, this set has more finishing marks than the other two. The best example of this is easily observed in the image below. You can see the 16, 8, and 20 faces at three different light levels, along with the marks in the silver borders. This is honestly no different than other metal dice I’ve received, but the buyer should be aware.
See the google drive folder I linked for more pictures. Some areas are a bit blurry in the pictures of these. Apologies, but my phone camera was NOT behaving with all the reflections / different light levels.
My Rating: 8/10. The list price really makes a difference to me here. They’re fantastic quality for the price they’re listed at currently. I’ve seen less detailed dice going for much more money elsewhere. I think they’re a fantastic value where they are now. The rating would improve to a 9 if the edges and number faces were a bit less marred.
Thanks for reading!
Below is the Google drive folder for more pictures:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/11HRonRXXd2QJ2z_T-PfuM2ee__zlK0c_?fbclid=IwAR1QDDcixXfs_GfYl_jNGKmpx8lSzIdgGYiqoxoWZlg_YbsEZ9kof4u0_x4