Precision Dice

[Actionjick]

If I was really jonesing to play and you insisted on using your precision or loaded, or mismatched dice and rigged dice tower, cup, or box lid I wouldn't care. If you insist on me using a set of dice you supply I don't care. If you insist on using the IIFT.... Whatever. Let's get down to the gunnin!! Actually the box top would suck!! It's not 1969.

If you feel that you have to cheat to beat me my feelings are divided. Partly taken as a compliment but more feeling sorry that you are missing the whole point of ASL and gaming in general. Just enjoy rolling whatever dice you want.

 

[Bill Kohler]

I don't think any posters in this thread have implied that ASLers use dice to cheat. In any event, neither standard-dice players nor precision-dice players hold a higher moral ground, and thankfully players of both persuasions seem very content to play players who use dice of the opposite type.

The primary topic, rather, has been whether precision dice are fairer than BV quality dice. Although it hasn't been proven, anecdotal evidence in this thread suggests the vast majority of dice are very fair. A number of ASL players, though, have stated they still prefer their precision dice--maybe for the size, or the heft, or the luster, or the high-quality feel, or even for the greater confidence they have in their fairness (however small an improvement that may be in actuality).

 

[Actionjick]

I don't think any posters in this thread have implied that ASLers use dice to cheat. In any event, neither standard-dice players nor precision-dice players hold a higher moral ground, and thankfully players of both persuasions seem very content to play players who use dice of the opposite type.

The primary topic, rather, has been whether precision dice are fairer than BV quality dice. Although it hasn't been proven, anecdotal evidence in this thread suggests the vast majority of dice are very fair. A number of ASL players, though, have stated they still prefer their precision dice--maybe for the size, or the heft, or the luster, or the high-quality feel, or even for the greater confidence they have in their fairness (however small an improvement that may be in actuality).

Well said.

I wasn't trying to imply that many players cheat. Just that if I wanted to play I wouldn't care about it if my opponent did resort to some questionable behavior. Childhood friend cheated as the banker in Monopoly. We knew but none of us cared. The games were fun, and perhaps even more fun knowing he was cheating. His collection of games was excellent btw!

I pretty much have always been all about the playing, not so much the winning. More fun that way.

 

[David Goldman]

The last two games I played on VASL (one will finish tomorrow) were disasters on my dice rolls. I suspect that the dicebot used skewed dice.

You just have to accept the fact that there will be runs of high rolls when you expected good results and got none. No matter what dice you use, cubes or electrons, it's gonna happen! It's not the dice, it's the way of the universe which is not a very precise place. You can't count on dice to be perfect whether or not they are BV, precision, backgammon or from lefty who never seems to crap out.

 

[Robin Reeve]

If my opponent cheated, and I noticed it, I would not play them again.
Because it would tell a lot about their wanting to win over having a good time with me.

 

[PresterJohn]

I would feel bad if had I used the BV dice for a long time after learning about dice qualities, and then found out they were biasing low. And I like the weight of those precision dice.

 

[hongkongwargamer]

Most things in life don't work out the way we want them to. I'd be over the moon if real life events give me a "fair distribution". DRs in ASL gives a good representation of how Life's often a "Beach".

 

[trailrunner]

I played a game yesterday with my new dice tower. When I got my new tower a few weeks ago, I dropped a pair of dice and rolled boxcars. When we were setting up our game yesterday, I showed my opponent my new dice tower -- and rolled boxcars for my first roll of the day. Throughout my game I seemed to roll boxcars for every critical roll. I was breaking SWs left and right, and failed a few MCs with CR and ELR. I did roll snake eyes four times, resulting in one mostly irrelevant critical hit but three half-squads going berserk, leaving their perfectly secure defensive position, and running into the street to charge the nearest machine gun nest.

Such is the game. In my case, I lightly cursed the dice (I think I said "geebus") but mostly laughed and enjoyed the story that it created.

I believe in the law of averages, so that dice tower owes me an incredible game when I'm rolling hot and can't go wrong. I pity my opponent in that game.

 

[DVexile]

Such is the game. In my case, I lightly cursed the dice (I think I said "geebus") but mostly laughed and enjoyed the story that it created.

I don't entirely understand the whole "threw the dice across the room" thing myself. I usually find it amusing when my multiple 16-2 attacks have no effect whatsoever and a legend forms around my opponent's seemingly indestructible conscript HS holding a key location. It's mostly just funny when the best plans go awry and you have to work out something else. It's funnier still when eventually it is a sniper bait 2+2 shot that somehow burns down the stack you've been shooting at for two turns with no effect. As you said, the dice create stories that you'd never think to write yourself.

 

[Vic Provost]

I did witness Fish test the robustness of those dice towers against a clenched fist and the high speed impact into a wall. Oddly these tests had nothing to do with his rolling of the dice.

Btw the towers failed those tests.

My dice tower was made by Steve Pleva with Mahogany wood and nice, red rubber felt through the tower to deaden the sound of the dice, I can play with real dice later in the evening and not bother anyone. Needless to say, no chance I'll ever abuse this fine piece of work, those cheap, plastic towers probably deserved their fate. Neither my tower nor my precision dice will ever be tossed or damaged in any way, it is not their fault, unlike some cheap dice I have seen fired across the room at our various club locations. I keep saying, you can always go cheap, it is easy and sometimes necessary but having equipment you don't have to worry about equals peace of mind while playing whatever it is, if I lose it sure was not some nefarious dice nonsense, it was my own fault or the better play by my opponent, Stop whining and play the damn game!

 

[Vic Provost]

I don't entirely understand the whole "threw the dice across the room" thing myself. I usually find it amusing when my multiple 16-2 attacks have no effect whatsoever and a legend forms around my opponent's seemingly indestructible conscript HS holding a key location. It's mostly just funny when the best plans go awry and you have to work out something else. It's funnier still when eventually it is a sniper bait 2+2 shot that somehow burns down the stack you've been shooting at for two turns with no effect. As you said, the dice create stories that you'd never think to write yourself.

You speaketh the truth! I have been harmed by more 2 + 2 attacks than I can remember by huge IFT columns you rarely get to fire on.

 

[Actionjick]

My dice tower was made by Steve Pleva with Mahogany wood and nice, red rubber felt through the tower to deaden the sound of the dice, I can play with real dice later in the evening and not bother anyone. Needless to say, no chance I'll ever abuse this fine piece of work, those cheap, plastic towers probably deserved their fate. Neither my tower nor my precision dice will ever be tossed or damaged in any way, it is not their fault, unlike some cheap dice I have seen fired across the room at our various club locations. I keep saying, you can always go cheap, it is easy and sometimes necessary but having equipment you don't have to worry about equals peace of mind while playing whatever it is, if I lose it sure was not some nefarious dice nonsense, it was my own fault or the better play by my opponent, Stop whining and play the damn game!

When we started using the Chute Five towers it was the early '80s and there really weren't custom made ones available. I doubt that I would have gotten a custom made tower. The plastic ones worked, were inexpensive and a helluva lot better than rolling in a box!

As I have said before Fish only ever reacted that way playing me. I really am a jick and just laughed at his occasional loss of control. I don't recall him ever throwing or otherwise abusing his dice.

These Loss of Control incidents were usually caused by my dice rolling.

 

[Vic Provost]

When we started using the Chite Five towers it was the early '80s and there really weren't custom made ones available. I doubt that I would have gotten a custom made tower. The plastic ones worked, were inexpensive and a helluva lot better than rolling in a box!

As I have said before Fish only ever reacted that way playing me. I really am a jick and just laughed at his occasional loss of control. I don't recall him ever throwing or otherwise abusing his dice.

These Loss of Control incidents were usually caused by my dice rolling.

I've had my dice tower for around 20 years, my dice I have been getting from Battle School from 5 to 15 years ago or so. I had an older dice tower and some standard dice before that but what I have now is a huge upgrade from what I was rolling 30 to 40 years ago. Cheap stuff can always be abused, I did not care years ago when dice went flying across the room but no one throws dice anymore, we're mainly on VASL and when we get together ftf pretty much everyone has precision dice now, cheap dice are a relic of the past century for me and most everyone I play ftf. Have fun no matter what you roll with, just have fun, it is one reason why many of us play the game.

 

[Wayne]

Re dice tower alternatives... years ago I saw at a convention a couple of ASL players using a pop-o-matic harvested from a kids game. There were two dice in it, one smaller white w/pips, a larger red w/Arabic numerals (their rate die). Results were quick and very easy to read. It made some noise but not much, really. They were both using it w/out problem and playing rather fast.

These are aka dice poppers (search on that term for sellers, if interested).

One can get a similar effect w/plastic kitchenware, though have to shake it like a dice-glass, of course -- advantage being you are less likely to "lose" your dice that way (dice do sometimes fly from both dice glasses and dice towers).

 

[Michael R]

That is pretty smart and inexpensive.

 

[DVexile]

A slightly more expensive and fancy version I recently put together, which one might call a "Dice Globe"



It is just a 4 inch plastic craft snow globe to which I glued some layers of foam and a top layer of black felt inside the lid. Globe was $7 and I had the other materials lying around. Compact and can move around the table out of the way with ease and not worry about any dice going astray.

 

[GeorgeBates]

Life's often a "Beach"

And then you dice?