THE DICE

 

Dice is a popular source of randomness in board games. It is also common to use dice for role-playing games. The dice is a small object that, when dropped onto a flat surface, displays one of several possible stable positions. A traditional dice is a cube with numbers from 1 to 6 on each of its six faces, which are thrown to display a randomly determined integer from one to six, each of which is equally possible due to the geometric shape, as long as the die is perfect. That randomness is also possible today with online dice.

VARIETY OF DICE

According to their shape: The dice can be multifaceted or irregular in shape.

According to their content: On their faces symbols can be traced instead of numbers.

These differences allow the use of dice to obtain different results from the classic 1-2-3-4-5-6 pattern. There are also dice, weighted on one side or with other invisible changes in sight, designed to manipulate the results. The purpose of such dice is to trick other players into winning cash or just for fun, for example as magic tricks. Nowadays, it is also possible to design your own custom dice, depending on your needs.

The dice are usually made in the form of a cube with the numbers 1 to 6 printed on their sides (they are generally arranged so that the sum of the numbers on the diametrically opposite sides is 7). The dice can be considered as a generator of random numbers in the integer interval [1..N] with almost the same probability of falling all the numbers in the interval. Such generators are 1dN. So for example a regular cube is 1d6; tossing coins is the operation of a 1d2 generator, etc. The abbreviation MdN represents the sum of the M applications of 1dN.

It should be noted that MdN gives integers in the interval [M..M * N]. The probability of a number falling from this interval increases as it approaches its center.

In RPGs (for example, Dungeons & Dragons) based on game rules, dice with 4, 6, 8, 12 and up to 20 heads are used. Lou Zokki invented the zokkedron, a die with 100 faces. However, to get a number from 1 to 100, they often use two 10-sided dice.

In the role-playing environment, the cube type is often denoted by the letter “d” or “k”, after which the number of sides is indicated. In addition to the usual hexagonal cubes (d6), four (d4), eight (d8), ten (d10), twelve (d12) and twenty (d20) bones are used. The designation d100, d%, or “percent cube” is also used, which are two decahedra, one of which is used to determine the number of tens and the second unit.

HISTORY OF THE DICE

The exact date of the appearance of the dice is unknown. The oldest dice are about 5,200 years old and were found in Iran along with a game to play backgammon during the excavations of the city of Shahri-Sukht. The marks on the edges of the bones practically do not differ from modern ones.

Other excavations of the ancient cemeteries of the Indian civilization indicate the origin of the dice in South Asia. The dice game is known as the Indian game in the Rig Veda, Atharva Veda and in the list of Buddha games that will not play. According to Greek tradition, Palamedes invented dice to entertain the boring Greek soldiers waiting for the Battle of Troy.

Modern dice owes its origin to an old game of skill played mainly by women and children. The gameplay consisted of throwing small bones of ungulates. The four-sided shape of the headstock became the first dice shape in history. Modern Mongols still use those tetrahedral dice for games and predictions. In addition to classic pet bones, materials such as ivory are used to make modern dice, wood, and various plastics. In historical chronicles, the dice game and the dibs game are often confused, but each of them has gone an independent path since ancient times and remains popular.

THE DICE IN GREECE AND ROME

Playing with two or three dice was a very popular form of entertainment in Greece, especially in the upper classes. They were constantly played during the holidays. The Romans were passionate players, especially during the height of the Roman Empire. Therefore, the game of craps was also generalized, although it was forbidden to play it; the ban was lifted only for the Saturnalia season.

Horacio ridiculed the typical young people of the time, who spent time playing dice instead of riding horses. Roll the dice for money brought up many special laws in Rome: One of them said that a person who allowed gambling at their home could not file a lawsuit, even if he was scammed or beaten. Back in those days, professional cheats appeared in

Among the players: To win, they intentionally made the bones they used on one side heavier. Now some of these bones are kept in museums.

Dice players were common in drink establishments: the surviving murals contain images of disputed players whom the owner takes out of the tavern.

Twenty-sided bones have been found that belong to the 2nd century BC. C. Tacitus pointed out that the Germans were passionate fans of the game of craps and, in the absence of money, could gamble for their own freedom.

In the 11th century, astragalomancy took shape in Byzantium. That is, the art of predicting the future using dice.

EVOLUTION IN THE MIDDLE AGES

In the Middle Ages, dice was one of the favorite pastimes of knights; there were game schools and player guilds. After the fall of feudalism, the Landsknechts gained a reputation as the most outrageous dice players of the time; the cubes were decorated with elaborate carvings representing people and animals. In France, both knights and ladies played dice, despite repeated laws, including the prohibitions of Saint Louis in 1254 and 1256.

Today, dice are still used in countless games, and can be found in multiple shapes and materials. Of course, the online version is increasingly popular, since it allows the perfect configuration for every occasion. Still, many people are still fetishists of these small objects, and sometimes they have become not only a game material, but rather collectors’ items.

 

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