Berserk: When it ends?

[James Taylor]

These dice have a special marking instead of a one. They are produced by a Canadian firm, and they are given away as prizes and perhaps sold at ASL conventions. I found them on ebay. They are about $10 per die. My ASL friend thinks they are dubious, but I like them. Tom

IIRC the manufacturer has acknowledged that these dice have been altered in a way that may affect their "precision-ness", i.e. the markings on them have been done via engraving and therefore potentiall impacting their "true rolling" nature.

I know players that won't use them when kidney's are on the line.

And now to answer your real question regarding when Berserk ends:

When there is a red stain on the pavement.

JT

[BattleSchool]

IIRC the manufacturer has acknowledged that these dice have been altered in a way that may affect their "precision-ness", i.e. the markings on them have been done via engraving and therefore potentiall impacting their "true rolling" nature.

I know players that won't use them when kidney's are on the line.

JT

Hi all,

I do not want to highjack this thread, but in the interest of answering the secondary question asked by the OP, here goes.

Assuming the dice referred to are precision dice (i.e. in good condition-not chipped, worn, etc.), they should be as balanced as any other casino or professional backgammon dice. Casino dice routinely have monograms applied to one or more faces of a die. This ultra-thin foil is applied using a hot-stamp process. The design is not engraved. The second point is that the epoxy used for the pips is the same density as the celloluse acetate used to make the die. The absence of a pip on one or more faces does not change the weight and/or balance of the die. Moreover, if foil designs altered the performance of a die in any measurable way, I am certain that casinos, as well as those playing for kidneys, would not use such a die. However, this is anything but the case. You can find about a little more about the manufacturing process on Sitrep.

Finally, with regard to the "ace" appearing more frequently than one might expect, this is a psychological effect of the design. A player will imagine that it appears more often simply because the design catches the eye more than a face with only pips. Mark Pitcavage had similar doubts, and expressed them on his blog.

I am not an expert in the production of precision dice. Nor am I a mathematician. However, there are a number of ways that one can test the balance of a precision die. If in doubt try one of the tests that you can find online. I think you would need to make a minimum of 600 rolls to establish some sort of pattern. Mark used one of these tests in his write up.

Now back to your regular programming.

[MarkDV]

Folks, That was my argument, that the wounded 8-0 leader charged to where the American unit had been. Another query: I had purchased two sets of the famed ASL battle dice; nonetheless, my opponent rolled snake-eyes five times in a turn and a half! Has anyone else been using these ASL dice? And what are your experiences with them? Tom

Were it me, I would clandestinely return to my opponents house at say 2am and search for signs of the occult, dead squirrells upside down on crucifixes etc...

FOR sanity, I recommend the following. Track your dice. I keep 10 sets of dice handy when I roll, and can tell you the last 10 rolls I had based on that. If the dice are crappy, well, look at the rolls. If I'm hot, well, look at the rolls....I get hard evidence to match or take apart my perceptions.

Good thread!

Mark DV
Ada, MI

[Vinnie]

I would never track my rolls. The next roll is the important one.

[rwcallen]

I have precision dice, both unstamped with the usual single pip on the ace side, and Battledice with the medals on the ace side. I've noted no difference, and have become confident that any apparent bias I perceive in the Battle dice is due to the experience of seeing the design rather than a pip.

[MajorDomo]

If your opponent has some funky dice, you know, with death heads for one..., just agree to use his dice for every roll. Issue solved for me.

Rich

[Tom Nelson]

My battle school dice are relatively new, and and they appear undamaged. Several days ago, I rolled the same two dice five times, and two snake eyes occured. I then rolled them another five times, and no snake eyes occured. Certainly with the realm of possibility to have two snake eyes in ten rolls, however. 600 rolls would be much better. My paralegal friend's girlfriend threw him out of their apartment, and he has rented an room at my house; tonight, we are playing Bungle in the Jungle. These battle dice will once again be tested, no doubt. Tom

[James Taylor]

Hi all,

I do not want to highjack this thread, but in the interest of answering the secondary question asked by the OP, here goes.

Assuming the dice referred to are precision dice (i.e. in good condition-not chipped, worn, etc.), they should be as balanced as any other casino or professional backgammon dice. Casino dice routinely have monograms applied to one or more faces of a die. This ultra-thin foil is applied using a hot-stamp process. The design is not engraved. The second point is that the epoxy used for the pips is the same density as the celloluse acetate used to make the die. The abscence of a pip on one or more faces does not change the weight and/or balance of the die. Moreover, if foil designs altered the performance of a die in any measurable way, I am certain that casinos, as well as those playing for kidneys, would not use such a die. However, this is anything but the case. You can find about a little more about the manufacturing process on Sitrep.

Finally, with regard to the "ace" appearing more frequently than one might expect, this is a psychological effect of the design. A player will imagine that it appears more often simply because the design catches the eye more than a face with only pips. Mark Pitcavage had similar doubts, and expressed them on his blog.

I am not an expert in the production of precision dice. Nor am I a mathematician. However, there are a number of ways that one can test the balance of a precision die. If in doubt try one of the tests that you can find online. I think you would need to make a minimum of 600 rolls to establish some sort of pattern. Mark used one of these tests in his write up.

Now back to your regular programming.

My apologies if I've spread false information. I don't own the dice in question, but simply passed on what I heard from others and thought that I had seen confirmation of that here.

Again, sorry if that was incorrect.

JT

[Vinnie]

My paralegal friend's girlfriend threw him out of their apartment, and he has rented an room at my house; tonight, we are playing Bungle in the Jungle.

So that $30 you gave to Sexy Suzie's Fun and Frolics to confirm he'd been there paid dividends then?

[Tom Nelson]

We played four turns of Bungle in the Jungle on July Fourth. My opponent rolled the same ASL dice 74 times in total, and there were only two snake-eye results! I have taken one 37L Japanese AT gun, and I have lost the carrier and have had one Stuart immobilized. Yet I feel like I am winning because I have lost only one half squad while killing 4 and a half Japanese 347s and a Japanese 8-0 leader. And two of the remaining Japanese 37L AT guns look very vunerable to a British infantry assault in the next three turns thus reducing the needed British VP to 23 points. I will still need to get past the those 3 puny Japanese tanks, however. Tom