Holey Icehouse

An Unusual Icehouse Stash

Explanation

Icehouse is an abstract strategy game played with small pyramids. In a standard game, each player has fifteen pyramids, five each of three sizes. You used to be able to buy raw wood pieces from Icehouse Games, and decorate them yourself.

Sadly, Icehouse Games is no more, but several years before they went, I bought a single stash of raw pieces and then took several years to decide what to do with them. They existed for several years in their bare wood state, then I decided to drill holes in them. After a year or two of that, I painted them to get the motif you see now. (Update: Looney Labs has picked up making Icehouse pieces again! They're now molded plastic, hollow, and very pretty.)

The effect I was going for was of antique white pyramids, pierced by bloody red holes. I was reasonably successful. Yes, the holes go all the way through.

Materials

• One stash of raw wooden pieces
• Drill bits and drill
• Enamel paint, red and white
• Polyurethane

The Process

1. Drill holes in the pieces. For smaller pieces, I used smaller drill bits
2. Paint the pieces white.
3. Paint the holes red. This is easily accomplished by shoving a paint laden brush into each hole, since drippiness is part of the target effect.
4. Seal with Polyurethane.