'Lucky Dice' in a league

[TheDoc]

Has anyone ever seen how dice are made? Lucky dice are not so much lucky as they are naturally imbalanced by the way they are all sanded down. It is completely normal for any type of dice that is mass produced to roll certain numbers more than others. The "lucky" ones are usually just the dice that a gamer unknowingly comes to rely on because they're imbalanced to the high numbers.

Right I'm off to see if any of my dice are 'Naturally imbalanced' to the high numbers!

I can tell you after playing with my Bunker Bowl dice I can say that those ones aren't

[Afroman]

Have a set off dude dice
At Dobby bowl they were crap. At my league last night they rolled 12,12, 10,11 9, 12 first six rolls (or something similarly obscene). Killed 2 elves with my first two blocks. opponent rolled em 5 times, no more than an 8. I still promptly retired them for the game as he was getting visibly upset.

Been there on Both sides.
It's one thing when this happens in a game between two "regular"(non stunty) teams. But When I outcas orcs 10-4 with my flings(real case scenario), even I start looking funny at my dices. Of course, those same dices couldn't pick up the ball nor dodge if their life depended on it.

Nevertheless, last time it happened my opp rolled the dices after the game a 5-6 times and he promtly rolled high(10+) numbers. That was quite uncomfortable as it made me look bad indeed.

Nowadays I have a 10- identical dice pool from wich I roll. Makes me at least certain that I'm not cheating.

I've tried a few times to do some statistics over the dice rolls during a game, but it's just to time consuming to do during a game.

Bottom line:
This is a very common feeling among BB-people.
Share if possible.
Don't act possessive over your dices.
Be careful of accusing before you are certain, be subtle unless it's obvious.

[BillyDee]

I remember adverts for dice in Dragon magazine that listed which numbers different batches of dice favoured...

[spubbbba]

For next season, have a bunch of dice made with the league's logo and institute a policy that only those dice can be used for league games. Sharing or not, you'd know the dice came from a source that made sure they aren't weighted.

Just an alternative to having to make everyone share.

That would be something really cool to do.

You could take it even further and each new season have custom dice made with the symbol and colours of the winning team.

[JT-Y]

The only dice that are truly balanced are casino dice, and they only give a true result when thrown at a wall 11 foot away, I hate, hate to see gamers rolling them onto a table as they tend to flat drop and not roll.

Backgammon celluloid dice are also extremely well balanced, but are very expensive and only available in d6.
Designed to be evenly weighted and shaken in a cup, they do give a random result.

Game Science dice, well, least said soonest mended. He'll die one day and we'll be left alone.

Ordinary dice are all imbalanced to a certain extent, and will always tend to favour a certain side to a greater or lesser extent.
This varies depending upon quality and material. Cheap nasty dice are just that and very often do favour one side consistently. Obviously the more you pay for a die the more quality you get, Chessex dice for example, aren't rock tumbled to buggery and produce pretty random rolls.

Problems normally arise from how players roll dice; a limp wristed shake in a closed hand and a flat drop will allow the dice to drop and display a favoured side, taking that further a roll is very easy to fix, by sliding or spinning.

Most problems are fixed by the use of dice cups, a good shake and slam will produce a pretty random roll. In your hand the dice don't have room to rattle around, and tend to knock together without turning, but in a cup they tumble.

As said previously, people will tend to favour dice that produce good numbers and call them lucky.

Long story short, yes his dice probably are imbalanced, but he probably doesn't know.
Make him use a cup or dice tray if he doesn't already. If he does, make sure the cup gets a good shake, if you can't hear the dice tumbling, they aren't.

Or just ask your more experienced players to abide by a gentlemans agreement to not utterly kill a new players team early in the league. Let the newbies learn the game without the heartache of having their little men killed in short order, and try not to make their beloved stars targets.

If he doesn't use a cup and is sliding his dice across the table and towards his other forearm/hand, punch the fcuk out of him. I bet he'll know exactly why it's happening even if you don't.

[SunDevil]

1. Make shared dice a league rule. Coaches agree on what to use before the game.

2. ALL dice used for a game must be out on the table before the game starts and NO other dice may be brought out during the match.

We do #2 but not #1. Though we do have an "ask to use your opponent's dice rule" in place and you CANNOT say no if asked.

For "low rolls, make dice towers a league rule. May not be practical everywhere but we have some that Drew's dad made for our league. I love 'em.

I hate casino dice for gaming because they slide flat a lot (as was mentioned above) and their sharp points pockmark the BB pitch terribly. I also hate heavy, solid metal dice. Those things are like wrecking balls for minis. Get a dice tray if your rolling those paperweights!

[Axtklinge]

I hate casino dice for gaming because they slide flat a lot (as was mentioned above) (...)

+1
We've got a players that uses a set similar to those (very square and edgy, similar to casino ones), and its a pain to get them to actually "roll". They simply fall and either "slide" for a bit or just stay put.
Not a big fan of those too.

[robsoma]

If it is ruining your game i'd just ask to share dice. Personally i prefer to have my own dice and sometimes i use different dice for different rolls, that is totally a superstisious thing.

[DixonCider]

Has anyone ever seen how dice are made? Lucky dice are not so much lucky as they are naturally imbalanced by the way they are all sanded down. It is completely normal for any type of dice that is mass produced to roll certain numbers more than others. The "lucky" ones are usually just the dice that a gamer unknowingly comes to rely on because they're imbalanced to the high numbers.

Right I'm off to see if any of my dice are 'Naturally imbalanced' to the high numbers!

I can tell you after playing with my Bunker Bowl dice I can say that those ones aren't

if the weight is off on one side from uneven pips or a logo or a dubious scoundrel who wants to ruin a league by microwaving the dice with the 6 up this will cause a high number to be more likely

[Kikurasis]

dubious scoundrel who wants to ruin a league by microwaving the dice with the 6 up this will cause a high number to be more likely

Actually, that wouldn't work -- they'd have to likely be cooked with their 1 face on top. See this article to know why: http://www.warseer.com/forums/showthrea ... -must-read

[Dave]

now that was a good read .. interesting .. (and possibly expensive in the long run)