"Are you a dice snob?" Topic

I've recently realized that I tend to look down on games that solely use d6, without knowing anything about them. I believe this is a combination of my association of d6 with the "kiddie" games of my youth, & the strong anti-Warhammer sentiment that has rubbed off on me over time.

So, does the type of dice a game uses give you an immediate favorable or unfavorable impression, regardless of the actual game mechanics?

It beats flipping cards letting you know who moves where.

Oh wait thats Candyland.

I must admit I am in firmly the opposite camp.

I really quite dislike rules that repeatedly use what I perceive as quirky dice i.e. D4, D8, D10, D20 etc, particularly when I get the feeling that they've done it just to be different.

The more D6 for me the better. I actually like chucking buckets of them.

…For the record I have never been played any Fantasy rules, so its not a carry over from that.

There are some rather sophisticated combat systems that use the old D6.

Johnny Reb

Squad Leader

Watch Your Six!!

just to name a few.

mjc

I am an equal opportunity dice man. I like 'em all.

What Parzival said.

Rob

Games that use unusual dice, which for me means anything beyond the "D&D Polyhedrals", will be looked upon with suspicion.

The idea that the D4, D8, D12, and D20 are "quirky" is amusing.

The D34, on the other hand…

I admit to being a bit of a dice snob. I like the D10. It has been so long since I gamed regularly, that I don't really remember why I like it so much, but it is definately my favorite. I think.

I like piles of D10s in games, makes for easy math

now if you want "quirky" games that use 2d6 and add mods from a low number like 1 all the way to 12+ when everyone knows that 7 is the most likely out come and 1 and 12 are evenly the least likely.

I don't like systems that use different kinds of dice, as you always end up hunting for the right die.

I don't mind all-D10s though I generally prefer games that only use D6s.

Actually, I prefer 12mm D6s to be precise. With pips.

And I like to throw handfulls of dice after giving them a good shake first. Alternatively, if playing one of those boring "single die" games, I like to have a second die in hand to shake with the one I'm going to toss.

Makes a satifying rattle…

I don't care what type of dice are used in a game.

I am a snob on the quality of dice. Clearly marked dice are the only ones I will use. A dark color contrast to a light color.

I can't stand looking at roll and not seeing the numbers clearly because it is only an inprint or it is white on light gray, ect.

Wow, altfritz, were we seperated at birth? I do the exact same thing (rattle two dice and throw one). I live for the rattle!

I'm more of a stats snob. If the designer can show me by the results that show he worked things through and really understands the implications of his dice and factors, I am onside with whatever the dice are.

d6 with pips are easiest for me to play with.

To me, anything but a D6 means that you are deluded into thnking that you have acheived "realism".

when everyone knows that 7 is the most likely out come and 1 and 12 are evenly the least likely

Now that IS quirky! :)

I try not to do too much "thnking", it interfers with my deludedness.

All d6, no prob.

Mix of polyhedrals, no prob.

Needing more than 3 or 4 d8s to roll at once gets weird.

Solid color, opaque with contrasting numerals is my preferred style. All these speckly types with subdued numbers or non standard pips are unnecessary for me.

My all-time favorite dice are the d10s that came with Trinity: Battleground. They were safety orange with black panels on the facets and the numerals in orange. Could read them from the next room.

D6 or D10 it's all a troubling adiction. I broke it many years ago by embracing computer moderated wargames rules. I still dabble with the dice for a couple of periods but everytime I do I look forward to returning to the land of computer moderation.

db

How come no one uses percentile dice anymore? You end up with a number from 1 to 100. So if there's a 57% chance of doing something you don't have to round it off to the nearest 5% (D20) or 10% (d10) etc…

If it has dice I'm happy. I'm not overly partial to any one type of die, although most of the games I play regularly are d6 games. Most of my favorite games use d10s and d20s though.

Dave, it makes it difficult to make multiple rolls at once; it's the thing that bugs me about Warmachine/Hordes – I can have a unit with 10 models, each making 2 attacks, and for every attack, I need to roll 2D6. Compared with making 20 attacks in Warhammer, it takes ages.

I still use per-cent dice in a number of rules. It's a matter of pride that they were developed by fellow members of the now long-defunct Bristol Wargames Club.

D6 or d10 is fine.

I don insist that all dice be square are free of imperfections…but I don't have scales or balances to check each and every die. Oh and the pip for the '1' has to be drilled on center.

Average dice…now that's where I drawn the line!

"…7 is the most likely out come and 1 and 12 are evenly the least likely."

It's for that very reason that I like 2d6s. The distribution curve gives you the most chance of acheiving an average result while making extremes less likely. The fact that some people use too many modifiers is not the fault of the dice.

Nope! I will roll whatever dice the game requires-- if the rules/mechanics are good the type of die does not matter.

But I prefer D10's if I DO get a choice… 8)=

I do not like six-sided dice that use weird symbols. FUDGE dice, as well as the dice used for DOOM, Descent, and Battlelore irritate me to no end.

This being said, I really like DOOM, Descent, and BattleLore. I just wish they didn't use weird symbol dice, so I could go out and buy another set when the faces wear off from overuse…

"…7 is the most likely out come and 1 and 12 are evenly the least likely."

It's for that very reason that I like 2d6s.

I'd like to see you get a "1" on 2D6. 2 and 12 are the natural ends of the spectrum :)

Actually 1 is LESS likely than 12 on 2D6

Yes, I like the d6; occasionally the d10 and the nifty little to hit die that GW made popular.

Beyond that I have no use for any other random generator.

I prefer D6 but have others.

OK OK I did mean 2 not 1 it was late for me and was half asleep :)

I'm a big fan of d12s and d20s. I do not like d10s. They're not platonic solids.

As for the type of dice, I'm often put off by how dice are used, but not necessarily by the type.

A bunch of d6s is fine.

d10s, same – I think d10s are great, even if they're not regular polyhedra. They let you get a greater degree of modifications without the craziness the d20 takes with it everywhere it goes. With a d6 a +1 is a big swing, you can't give that kind of modifier for many factors. With a d10 is smaller, and you can do differential based combat systems with better results.

I think d6 works better with contested rolls.

And I'd be happy with a d4 or d8 based system, provided they were used intelligently, to create a good game experience ON THE BOARD.

But when the game uses a d4 for this and a d12 for that and this other thing gets a d8 except when it has certain advantages, then you get to roll a d10, I get the impression the designer is trying to make the game interesting with the dice. Not only is this distracting, but a miniatures game should be about the miniatures on the field, the ebb and flow of battle, the emerging dramatic narrative. If that's not working, don't try to get me excited by using different kinds of dice, or, for that matter, with elaborate backstory, excessive skulls or sexual imagery, claims historicity or anything else.

That said, I do like Button Men, because its not about the miniatures. Its a dice game, made interesting by the use of various dice. That makes sense, and its fun. Its not distracting from anything, because the different sized dice are what its about.

I'm certainly a snob about dice quality. I don't complain if someone wants to use crummy, mismatched dice, but I prefer to have nice, matched dice. I even have different dice for different games, with thematic colors. Lots of red and blue d20s for TSATF, urban cammo grey with yellow pips for Frag, green dice for Awful Green Things from Outer Space, etc.

Andrew

I used to be snob about cards. I thought they were kind of childish…
I was proved wrong, very wrong, and childish.

pre judge, everytime in one's life, is childish I think

Does it really matter? As long as the game is fun I can care a less as to what dice I need to roll.

I won't play any game that uses dice with an even number of sides. Cards are allowed only if they have fewer than two surfaces. Calculations must involve square-rooting imaginary numbers.

D6 if possible. Hate D4 they never roll properly. Its great when you play Bag The Hun and chuck a whole load of them when you open fire…