Dice Questions?

[Father of Dragons]

Those do seem to be math manipulatives dice

Both Koplow and Family Learning sell their own versions of such a die

I guess they must be, even if sort of odd ones -- thanks for your time on this.

 

[Kevin Cook]

I guess they must be, even if sort of odd ones -- thanks for your time on this.

You are quite welcome ...

<< Spreading dice information around the world >>

 

[Kevin Cook]

June 2007 Highlights

If you are not interested in new or rare dice that were inventoried this month ... Ignore this post



Click on the image above for highlights of dice added in June 2007

I have almost competed all the sets of MTG Spindowns and am now offering bonuses for both trades and sales ... HERE is what I have / need

As always ... If you have any dice questions ... post them to this thread and I will try to answer them for you​

 

[Kevin Cook]

July 2007 Highlights

If you are not interested in new or rare dice that were inventoried this month ... Ignore this post



Click on the 21000th die above for highlights of dice added in July 2007

I have almost competed all the sets of MTG Spindowns and am now offering bonuses for both trades and sales ... HERE is what I have / need ... just 9 left

As always ... If you have any dice questions ... post them to this thread and I will try to answer them for you​

 

[Kevin Cook]

Gen Con Indy 2007

For those attending Gen Con next week and wish to:

* Meet me (Like many have done)
* Have me roll your dice for luck for you (like at least 2 have done)
* Rub my belly for luck (like Buddha has done to him)
* Rub my head for luck (we wont go there)

Keep an eye out for a short round guy with either the large red D20 hat ... or the leather tophat

 

[Kevin Cook]

Did anyone else pickup some of the Ennie Awards Dice at Gen Con Indy?

 

[Chaldfont]

I have a question...

Ok, I must be pretty dense. I've been playing RPGs since the early 80s, but I've never noticed this before. I was playing Sunday and I had all my dice set to the highest number (a superstition my friend calls "charging the dice"). As I set them up I realized that there is no standardization to how the numbers are configured on the faces. What I mean is, if you set two different d20s with the 20 showing, the numbers surrounding the 20 will be different!

I don't really know why this surprised me. For some reason, I thought there would be some kind of standard, maybe based on those legendary first dice used by the Forefathers of Gaming.

So my questions are: Is there a standard for d6s, maybe used by casinos by tradition? Is there even consistency between dice made by the same company? Do the orientations of the numbers have any affect on the probability of rolling certain numbers?

 

[Atavar]

My understanding is that a "properly" configured die is one in which two opposite sides of the die always add up to N+1, where N is the number of sides on the die. So, for a d6, opposite sides would be 6-1, 5-2, and 4-3. Even with this standard, though, even a d6 can have different "configurations" (e.g. the 5 is to the left of the six on one die and to the right on another).

My older dice follow this norm, but many of my newer dice do not. I prefer dice that do follow this standard. I have no rational reason why I have that preference, though.

As for configuration affecting distribution, I think it may have an effect if one doesn't put a nice spin on a die when one rolls it. Spinning it well, though, when tossing it should eliminate any effect of the distribution, I'd think.

On another note, I remember back in 2ed days, when one rolled a d10 for initiative, and rolling low was good. I had a player who very often seemed to roll low. Occasionally, he'd roll very high. Then one day someone noticed that his d10's were 0-4, twice (so, 0-0-1-1-2-2-3-3-4-4). That's why he almost always rolled low (1-4) with the occasional high roll (0).

Later,

Atavar

 

[Kevin Cook]

I have a question...

Ok, I must be pretty dense. I've been playing RPGs since the early 80s, but I've never noticed this before. I was playing Sunday and I had all my dice set to the highest number (a superstition my friend calls "charging the dice"). As I set them up I realized that there is no standardization to how the numbers are configured on the faces. What I mean is, if you set two different d20s with the 20 showing, the numbers surrounding the 20 will be different!

Correct ... the configuration varies from mold to mold ... CLICK HERE for examples

I don't really know why this surprised me. For some reason, I thought there would be some kind of standard, maybe based on those legendary first dice used by the Forefathers of Gaming.

I may not be a forefather of gaming ... but I have been gaming for 30 years as of this month and I have never seen nor heard of a standard

So my questions are: Is there a standard for d6s, maybe used by casinos by tradition?

Other than opposing sides adding to 7 (see below) and precision ... there is no standard

Some casinos use right hand dice .. others use left hand dice ... CLICK HERE for explanation

Precision is determined by the local gambling commission ... but is typically 1/5000th of an inch

Is there even consistency between dice made by the same company?

Only with Gamescience and even Lou's dice are only about 1/100th of an inch precise

As to configuration consistancy ... only Chessex varies their configurations greatly ... as they use so many manufacturers

Do the orientations of the numbers have any affect on the probability of rolling certain numbers?

Only when using English (see below)

My understanding is that a "properly" configured die is one in which two opposite sides of the die always add up to N+1

A better term would be 'accepted' configuration ... as dice have either conformed or not conformed to this standard for centuries

As for configuration affecting distribution, I think it may have an effect if one doesn't put a nice spin on a die when one rolls it. Spinning it well, though, when tossing it should eliminate any effect of the distribution, I'd think.

The term you are speaking of here is 'English' ...

If a die is well balanced ... and is truly rolled randomly ... dice tower ... or bouncing off a surface ... then distribution of the indicated indica (sides) has no bearing ...

If a die is thrown with English ... distribution can have an effect ... if a master thrower throws it with Engish ... then distribution should have little effect as they can virtually control the dice regardless of configuration ... it is amazing to watch

On another note, I remember back in 2ed days, when one rolled a d10 for initiative, and rolling low was good. I had a player who very often seemed to roll low. Occasionally, he'd roll very high. Then one day someone noticed that his d10's were 0-4, twice (so, 0-0-1-1-2-2-3-3-4-4). That's why he almost always rolled low (1-4) with the occasional high roll (0)

LOL ... I still play 2nd ed ... I need one of those

 

[HellHound]

Hey Kevin, I feel like a fool for not recognizing you at GenCon when we got crammed in an elevator together going in the back way to the Embassy Suites - I knew you looked familiar but not from here, from the old days on rec.arts.bodyart.

Anyways, just wanted to say Hi, and thanks for the dicecollector.com die.

If a die is thrown with English ... distribution can have an effect ... if a master thrower throws it with Engish ... then distribution should have little effect as they can virtually control the dice regardless of configuration ... it is amazing to watch

Unfortunately, people tend to associate streaks of luck with English. I was accused directly of cheating at one tournament after a series of exceptionally lucky rolls. But that is neither here nor there.