A die (plural dice) is a small throw-able object with multiple resting positions, used for generating random numbers. This makes dice suitable as gambling devices for games like craps, or for use in non-gambling tabletop games.
An example of a traditional die is a rounded cube, with each of its six faces showing a different number of dots (pips) from one to six. When thrown or rolled, the die comes to rest showing on its upper surface a random integer from one to six, each value being equally likely. A variety of similar devices are also described as dice; such specialized dice may have polyhedral or irregular shapes and may have faces marked with symbols instead of numbers. They may be used to produce results other than one through six. Loaded and crooked dice are designed to favor some results over others for purposes of cheating or amusement.
What Makes Dice Fair?
A fair die is a shape that is labelled so that each side has an equal probability of facing upwards when rolled onto a flat surface, regardless of what it is made out of, the angle at which the sides connect, and the spin and speed of the roll. Every side must be equal, and every set of sides must be equal.
The result of a die roll is determined by the way it is thrown, according to the laws of classical mechanics; they are made random by uncertainty due to factors like movements in the thrower's hand. Thus, they are a type of hardware random number generator. Perhaps to mitigate concerns that the pips on the faces of certain styles of dice cause a small bias, casinos use precision dice with flush markings.
Precision casino dice may have a polished or sand finish, making them transparent or translucent, respectively. Casino dice have their pips drilled, then filled flush with a paint of the same density as the material used for the dice, such that the center of gravity of the dice is as close to the geometric center as possible. All such dice are stamped with a serial number to prevent potential cheaters from substituting a die.
The most common fair die used is the cube, but there are many other types of fair dice. The other four Platonic solids are the most common non-cubical dice; these can make for 4, 8, 12, and 20 faces . The only other common non-cubical die is the 10-sided die.
Platonic Solids as Dice
A Platonic solids set of five dice; tetrahedron (four faces), cube/hexahedron (six faces), octahedron (eight faces), dodecahedron (twelve faces), and icosahedron (twenty faces).
Loaded Dice
A loaded, weighted, or crooked die is one that has been tampered with to land with a specific side facing upwards more often than it normally would. There are several methods for creating loaded dice; these include round and off-square faces and (if not transparent) weights. Tappers have a mercury drop in a reservoir at the center, with a capillary tube leading to another reservoir at a side; the load is activated by tapping the die so that the mercury travels to the side.