Happy National Dice Day, Variants! Though many games and gambles over several millennia have featured dice of varying sides, reportedly even deciding the fate of Mahanharata’s Kingdom and the fates of his wife and brothers nearly 5,000 years ago, there is no denying that dice have been an integral part of recorded civilization and beyond.
Related: Port of Entry – Dice
From the well-known discovery and use of icosahedrons in Hellenistic and Roman periods (primarily originating from Egypt and Greece and found within civilizations placed before recorded time) to modern uses with board games and gambling the intended use of dice has remained loosely the same. People have been using dice of varying sides to wage bets, settle arguments, storytelling, and as a test of fate for thousands of years. So how has this tradition lasted so long and remained useful to this day?
Related: Dice: Part Probability, Part Superstition
One alluring aspect of using dice is the idea that it creates a fair playing field for all parties. Properly balanced dice do not discriminate, care, or have stock in the outcome. It is purely up to chance, and it is up to us as players to wager what the outcome would mean. To celebrate Dice Day, many TTRPG players and businesses will incorporate dice into giveaways, discounts, and more, but how can we celebrate for ourselves?
Related: Personalized Dice Display Jar
Play a game with friends and family – Dust off the boxes, break out the rule books, and pick your meeple, it’s time to put down the controller and play a board game! There are a plethora of games to choose from that involve various types of dice, most commonly a d6 or six sided dice is used for boardgames.
Support your locally owned game store – Make a trip to your local game store and make a purchase! Wether it’s a new rule set, new dice set, or even a new game to add to your collection small buisness will appreciate your support and you will help keep the tradition alive in your community.
Support small time creators / dice makers – There are a hundreds of small shops online (a great place to start is Etsy.com and search “Polyhedral Dice Set”) that create unique and custom dice or accessories, we recommend supporting them AND paying them their worth for these incredible works of art and labors of love. *Bonus* Dice make for an excellent stocking stuffer!
Give out likes and follows on social media – Even if you can’t celebrate by support shops financially you can offer them free support by liking their pages, accounts, photos, and videos! Just make sure to comment with a minimum of 6 words to help actually boost their posts with current social media algorythms. Reminder: This is totally FREE but actually makes a difference for small businesses!
We hope you have fun however you choose to celebrate National Dice Day!
