Roll a dice

A six-sided die without a die. Press the button for a number from 1 to 6, or roll several at once.

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A real die is less fair

A die looks like the standard of randomness, but physically it is not. The pips are drilled out, so the six face is lighter than the one face and the centre of mass shifts. Corners are rounded so the die rolls, and never quite evenly. Cheap plastic dice can be off by several per cent; casino dice with flush-filled pips get down to fractions of a per cent and cost accordingly.

Here all six outcomes are equally likely by construction.

Dice with other face counts

Change the upper bound and you have the die you need: 4, 8, 10, 12, 20, or 100 for a percentile. For tabletop players that is faster than digging a d20 out of the box.

To roll several dice raise the count. Do not tick “no repeats”: on two dice it would forbid a double, and doubles happen once in six rolls and often decide the turn.

Questions

Frequently asked questions

How do I roll several dice?

Raise the count: two dice are two independent rolls from 1 to 6. Do not tick “no repeats” — otherwise a double would never come up, while in real life it happens once in six rolls.

What about dice with other face counts?

Change the upper bound: 4 for d4, 8 for d8, 12 for d12, 20 for d20, 100 for a percentile die. Tabletop players find that faster than digging the right die out of a box.

Is an online die fairer than a real one?

Oddly enough, yes. Real dice have imperfections, rounded corners and drilled pips that make faces come up unevenly; cheap plastic dice can be off by several per cent. Here all six outcomes are equally likely by construction.

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