Roll dice online
Dice was the first game of chance in the history of mankind. Cubes with dotted edges remain a part of games today, they help to resolve disputes, become a lot and a tool for choosing a solution in the absence of strong arguments for and against.
History of dice
Anthropologists and archaeologists are unanimous in their opinion that initially the bones had a magical meaning - they guessed by them, interpreting the combinations that fell out. The invention probably belongs to the Indians, although the tradition could have originated in any ancient civilization. Bones are found during excavations of the ancient Sumerians, in Egyptian tombs and in Tibet. The use of bones for the game was invented by the Greek Palamedes, evidence of this is in the tragedy of the same name by Sophocles.
During the Middle Ages, bones were banned. Only in the 15th century they were brought to Europe by sailors, since that time dice games have become a common activity in British pubs. Over time, fun penetrated the salons of France and England, and later spread to the territory of America. Archaeological finds confirm that in the pre-Christian era, the Slavs used dice. In the 16th-17th centuries in Rus', peasants threw bones when demarcating land, to determine primacy and resolve disputes.
Once upon a time, the hoof joints of animals were used as playing dice. Later, they began to be made from wood, stones, fruit pits, precious metals, nut shells and other materials.
Types of dice
It is generally accepted that game dice can only have a square shape with six sides. It's actually the most common, and is used in the vast majority of craps-type games. Opposite sides always give a total of 7 points, and the probability of getting one or another number is 1/6.
But besides dice, there are other types of dice: in the form of tetrahedra, dodecahedrons, icosahedrons. They are denoted by the Latin letter D with a numerical prefix, and significantly expand the gaming experience.
The only game die that gives an increased probability of dropping a particular number is a tetrahedron, with the designation D4. Compared to a die, it has only 4 sides, respectively - the chance of each of them falling out is 25%. But the tetrahedron does not have a front side, and the fallout always occurs with the tip up. Which of the three open faces is considered dropped is determined in advance, according to the game rules.
The classic die is referred to as D6, and has 6 variations of rolled values. It is with him that the craps game, which is widespread throughout the world, is primarily associated. What other types of dice are used today in gaming practice? We refer to them:
- D8. An octahedral figure, or scientifically an octahedron. Accordingly, the probability of getting a result for it is 1/8. In classic craps, D8 is rarely used, and its main scope is role-playing games, including computer games.
- D10. A decahedron ideal for generating random numbers between 0 and 9 with 10% probability.
- D12. A twelve-sided figure, or dodecahedron. The faces are numbered so that the opposite values add up to 13. The probability of a result falling out in a dodecahedron is 1/12, and the minimum number, as a rule, is not 0, but 1.
- D20. Twenty-sided, or icosahedron. Each of the faces is a regular triangle, on which a number is applied in the range from 1 to 20. Due to its shape, the icosahedron rolls well on a flat surface and leaves little chance of cheating during the game.
- D100. A perfect ball with numbers from 1 to 100 printed at regular intervals on the surface. This die is also often referred to as a "percentage die" because it can be used to determine percentage probabilities. The value that is located in the uppermost, central part of the ball is considered to be dropped out - after it has completely stopped and taken a stationary position.
The D100 figure can only be called a game die, but it is still used in board and role-playing games. And the most important scope of figures from D8 to D100 is online games and applications. And - not only gambling / desktop, but also full-fledged RPGs, strategies, quests. Throws of dice are of an auxiliary nature in them, and allow you to ramdomize individual characteristics / results - with the introduction of numerical randomness / uncertainty into the gameplay.
Interesting facts
The history of gaming dice goes back over 4-5 thousand years, and for all their simplicity (if not primitiveness), they have gathered a lot of interesting facts around them. For example, they include the following:
- During excavations in Iran, the most ancient dice were found, made approximately 5200 years ago. The dice lay next to the backgammon board.
- Inhabitants of Asia Minor during the famine with the help of bones were distracted from thoughts about food. The Lydians played dice and ate every other day.
- Since the invention of dice games, people have tried to fake dice. In the ruins of Pompeii, bones were found in which one side is heavier than the others.
- In the 11th century, a separate pseudoscience, astrahalomancy, was built on gaming dice. The Byzantines used these game pieces with numbered faces to predict the future.
- The number 7 is most commonly rolled when rolling two dice. This is because it has the largest number of combinations: 1 + 6, 2 + 5, 3 + 4, 4 + 3, 5 + 2 and 6 + 1. Therefore, if you are asked to guess the winning value before the roll, always choose a seven.
- 2 and 12 are the least likely to come up when throwing two dice. This is not surprising, because for these numbers only one combination is winning: 1 + 1 and 6 + 6.
- In classic game dice, the numbers 1 and 4 are often colored red. The reason lies in the Chinese language, in which the words "four" and "death" are written differently, but they sound the same - "si". To "neutralize" the unlucky four, it is painted in a "lucky" red color. They also color the unit, as it is associated with the unfortunate "black line".
Today there are no countries where they would not play dice: according to certain rules, using one or more game dice.
Dice changed shape, material and color, but retained their functions - this is a subject for playing and solving controversial issues. If there are no real dice at hand, use a program that generates random numbers. A computer cube will help you no worse than gold or plastic.
