Gamescience dice are very much worth it.

[JustinAlexander]

My only beef is that I find it hard to believe a piece of sprue left on the zocchi die won't affect the roll.

It does, but not as significantly as the rock tumbling process. And, unlike the flaws created by the rock tumbling process, the sprue is an easily correctable defect.

 

[Umbran]

It does, but not as significantly as the rock tumbling process. And, unlike the flaws created by the rock tumbling process, the sprue is an easily correctable defect.

Yes, but that still leaves the open question - is the issue large enough that we actually care?

Upthread, I rolled a d10 fifty times as a chi-square test. I got *no* 9s or 10s, and that's still not enough to statistically call the die biased!

How many times do you really roll a given die in the course of playing an RPG? For casinos, bias matters because they've got hundreds or thousands or people rolling dice all day, for big money, and the statistical variation then shows. But, for us gamers, we may not roll a given die enough times in a year to start to notice the bias with careful statistical measure, much less have it noticeably impact game play.

 

[rkarnes]

That's funny;

I feel like you say that to be derisive about my decision, as though it were ridiculous. There is a lot of division in this hobby; that division is worthy of ridicule, my decision to buy his dice is not.

...the video of Lou selling his dice convinced me to NEVER entertain the idea of buying a set. To me, he came across as smug, pretentious, obsessive, and takes himself way too seriously.

Yes, he was certainly on the abrasive side. Unfortunately that's more and more what I expect from convention floor pitches. By the end of the pitch, though, I decided to buy in. He was a good salesman, and he used several demonstrations in his video to back up his premise.

 

[Desdichado]

I feel like you say that to be derisive about my decision, as though it were ridiculous. There is a lot of division in this hobby; that division is worthy of ridicule, my decision to buy his dice is not.

If you feel like that, you could learn to be a little less sensitive and not take things personally. "That's funny" is a common conversation lead-in that's common when you're about to completely disagree with someone. If you feel belittled or derided because I included it, that's not a problem with how I said it.

Yes, he was certainly on the abrasive side. Unfortunately that's more and more what I expect from convention floor pitches. By the end of the pitch, though, I decided to buy in. He was a good salesman, and he used several demonstrations in his video to back up his premise.

That's one of the reasons why--even though I had a pretty good time when I went last--I haven't felt very motivated to make a return trip to GenCon. More and more I'm happy just enjoying my hobby locally with the folks that I game with and not concerning myself in the least with wider hobby issues. My posting here on occasion excepted.

 

[Scars Unseen]

As has been noted before, even if these dice are more random, the difference is pretty insignificant in the scope of a gaming session. To me, upgrading to materials such as stone, metal and wood provide more value than upgrading to aesthetically displeasing dice that provide an imperceptible increase in randomness.

 

[Gilladian]

Since I remarked on the durability of Gamescience dice, I do have to say I also find that they are no less pleasant to roll than my other dice (I own plenty), and I don't find the colors unappealing. However, I will say that I do ONLY own blue dice (a few white, black and crystal clear, too), so my dice-buying range is severely limited. Why, you ask, do I own only blue dice? Because once, years and years and years ago, we had a "my dice are all this color" rule at the table of a public game shop. I picked "blue" as my color, and stuck with it. Now, I just find myself reluctant to break the rule.

I find crystal dice to be the most annoying invention. I can't read them from more than 3' away, no matter how well they're marked. So as well as all blue, I try to stick with all-opaque, and all solid-color (none of those speckled or granite dice for me)!

 

[B.T.]

I don't think Zocchi is abrasive as all in that video. He comes across as someone who is passionate about gaming.

Also, LUMPY GRAVY.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Also, LUMPY GRAVY.

Is Zocchi related to the Zappas?

 

[Holy Bovine]

As has been noted before, even if these dice are more random, the difference is pretty insignificant in the scope of a gaming session. To me, upgrading to materials such as stone, metal and wood provide more value than upgrading to aesthetically displeasing dice that provide an imperceptible increase in randomness.

Aesthetically displeasing to you - I find them very beautiful. The sprue knub is easily taken off with a modelling knife and I have been inking my own dice since forever. Gamescience dice were the very first dice I ever bought and it took me years to find them again (this was long before any 'internet'). The randomness thing doesn't mean anything to me - I buy them because I love the look of them and the fact that they don't roll all over the table - a couple of bounces and they stop. Compared to some of my players and their 'forever roller' dice that..just...don't...STOP... I'm very happy with my GS dice and use them exclusively.

 

[Umbran]

The randomness thing doesn't mean anything to me - I buy them because I love the look of them and the fact that they don't roll all over the table - a couple of bounces and they stop. Compared to some of my players and their 'forever roller' dice that..just...don't...STOP... I'm very happy with my GS dice and use them exclusively.

Here's an interesting point - it may well be that GameScience dice are less apt to be biased. But, the fact that they don't roll far means they are much, much easier to cheat with, if someone's got that skill.