Questions tagged [dice]

This tag refers to questions specifically about dice themselves, covering topics such as rolling, construction, sizes etc. It is not a meta tag for adding to any game-with-dice question (including identify this game with dice; the identify-this-game tag is sufficient)

69 questions
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What is this weird d12 for?

So I won these d12s at an arcade only to realise they're not normal. Instead of having 1-12 on them, they have some array of numbers from 3-8 or 4-9. There were red, blue and white ones, and I don't know if all the same coloured ones had the same…
Deathly
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What game did these black and yellow dice come from?

I found these in Australia: A set of six six-sided dice, black with yellow markings. The dice are identical. The sides are the numerals 1, 2, and 3; an unfilled pip and a filled pip; and a weird tentacle thing. (From different angles the tentacle…
Ryan Veeder
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Where is this six-sided die from

Gaming with my daughter's boyfriend, I noticed this die. I asked him about it, but his tl;dr was it was a found die, and he has no idea what it's for or from. Any ideas? I do note that 3 & 4 are the average of a d6, 6 & 7 are the average of a d12,…
Longspeak
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Is there a standard way to number the faces of a 20-sided die?

I hold a 20-sided die (icosahedron) in my hand. As with any other die, to help fairness, values on opposing sides sum to twice the mean (as explained here). I know that in a "normal" 6-sided die, there are norms about the numbering order (as…
Bach
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What is the special die with pictograms in Monopoly used for?

I think that I have a pretty standard version Monopoly, which looks exactly like I see in the Web It has two white dice with values 1 to 6 and one red with values 1,2,3 and 3 pictures. I haven't seen any rules that say what to do with this second…
Val
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What game uses dice with compass point arrows, forbidden signs, explosions, arrows and targeting reticles?

A while ago I bought a few bags of factory 2nd dice. Out of those bags, there are a handful of dice that I have not been able to immediately identify. Some I have later been able to identify through image searching, such as the Warhammer Blood…
Liam Morris
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Why do the opposing sides of a D20 generally add up to 21

Most D20s I own (with the exception of poorly made foam ones or MTG spin-down dice) seem to have all opposing sides add up to 21 (20 + 1, 15 + 6, etc). Why is this? Who started this?
22
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Can anyone tell me what game these dice come from?

There are 7 d6 and a d10. Sides contain horseshoes, crossbows, swords, wings, faces, etc.
Jason Templeman
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Why are the pips on dice organized the way they are?

Is there any particular reason why the pips (the little dots) on a die are arranged in those patterns (3 is a diagonal line, 6 is two horizontal lines, etc.)? And also why any face plus its opposite equals 7?
user45266
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Where is this die from?

The die appeared in my old room, lying perfectly on a table, and nobody knows where it came from. I would be thankful if you would help me identify this die.
Somebody
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14
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What dice to use in a game that revolves around triangles?

I am currently in the process of prototyping a game that revolves around triangles. I want my players to roll 3d4 dice to move, but am worried about the effects it might have vs. a traditional 2d6 setup. The reasons I want to use d4s are: They are…
TheCentaur
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What board game does this die belong to?

I found a red and black die in my pocket. The sides are a T, a Roman column, two people, a clock with x2, one person, and another T; each image is bordered by a circle. I have no idea what it's from; any help?
Annamarie
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Fairness of Cowry Shells as Dice

I just learned about the use of cowry shells as binary dice and find the idea enchanting. However, I'm concerned about the apparent "fairness" of the dice. Obviously, because there are multiple instances, they are not an equivalent to a single die…
JAMalcolmson
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Playing Settlers of Catan with a D12 instead of 2D6

Has anyone tried this? Does it break the game? Does it make it easier/quicker? Assuming a 1 gave no resources to anyone and a 7 still invoked the robber how different a game would this make Settlers?
Omar Kooheji
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Why do people call an n-sided die a "d-n"?

e.g. "d6", for a 6-sided die. Put the letter after the number, and that makes sense. That's an abbreviation for "six-dimensional". When you've got a tuple, for example, you just call it an "n-tuple". Why not an "n-die"? I read Wikipedia but it's not…
user34579
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