# Dice rolling. What's the prefered method?



## jaysen (Jul 7, 2011)

I really loathe players that don't give the dice a good role, especially when they sort of just set them down and miraculously role 6's. I either just let it go and don't say anything, or I get mad and say something mean and sarcastic like "Maybe if you'd role the dice instead of cheating, I'd have a chance at winning this game." That, of course, is not conducive to a good time.

So, any good tips as to how to get these people to play fair without insulting them?


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## spanner94ezekiel (Jan 6, 2011)

I don't mind if they're rolling in plain sight, because then if there's others around then it's harder for them to get away with "rolling" them.


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## Warlord_Winters (May 2, 2012)

and hit them in the face with the dice

I would only recomend this if your winning against a real jerk


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## SGMAlice (Aug 13, 2010)

Few people have tried that, none in my gaming group, but when we do play with 'unknowns', we usually use an object as a backstop for the dice.

In most cases it is the Honoured Imperium statue that we have at the top of our Apocalypse table, one must roll against it, releasing the dice 2-3 inches before the statue so all players can see them.

Stipulation is the key, they must understand the rule and abide by it or not play.
Few people decline a game :so_happy:

Alice


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## mcmuffin (Mar 1, 2009)

Unfortunately you just can't tell people how to roll dice, i know a guy who just drops them from about an inch above the table and seems to roll exceptionally well, but he is throwing the dice so it is legit, i tried to call him on it at a tournie and I got yellow carded for unsportsmanlike conduct.


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## shaantitus (Aug 3, 2009)

So far i only play friendlies. No cheating encountered.


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## Madden (Jan 22, 2012)

Get them to use a dice cup and then you can hear them rattle around, but yes I've come across peeps who sort of slide them out of there hand normally a look or a quite(or not so quiet if they persist) word about seeing a shake and roll seems to work.


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## Jace of Ultramar (Aug 2, 2011)

"Roll the damn dice. If you just casually drop them again I'll belt you in the parking lot."

"You're not belting anyone, especially me, I own this store!"

Actual conversation between myself and my friend who owns the FLGS I go to. This is staged so people do roll the dice as the 'casual drop' method is unacceptable. House rules require dice to move, preferably end over end, no less than two inches.


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## Da Joka (Feb 20, 2009)

I seem to have an aura of bad luck. So my opponents just roll bad :laugh:


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## TheKingElessar (Mar 31, 2009)

mcmuffin said:


> Unfortunately you just can't tell people how to roll dice, i know a guy who just drops them from about an inch above the table and seems to roll exceptionally well, but he is throwing the dice so it is legit, i tried to call him on it at a tournie and I got yellow carded for unsportsmanlike conduct.


Really? Wow. Yeah, that's cheating.
I'd respond to that bullshit by slow-playing the bastard.


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## Sothot (Jul 22, 2011)

See, I don't like throwing dice around the table where they bounce off models and knock things around like some people I've played with (one who insisted on"shooting" dice at his squads's target, no less) so I cup my hands and shake the dice around quite audibly a good five six seconds before dropping them into an area of the table in my opponents view and relatively model free. I would wager they fall a good three or four inches from my hands before splashing onto the table. Would you guys slow play me or is that fair enough?


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## mcmuffin (Mar 1, 2009)

I responded by 20-0ing him anyway, but it annoyed me to no end


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## Turnip86 (Oct 7, 2011)

I use my right hand, shake vigorously and release all over the table.

Occasionally I'll use my left.

On certain occasions I have been known to sit my hand to numb it fir...... wait... >.>

<.<


>.>

Never mind.


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## TheKingElessar (Mar 31, 2009)

Sothot said:


> See, I don't like throwing dice around the table where they bounce off models and knock things around like some people I've played with (one who insisted on"shooting" dice at his squads's target, no less) so I cup my hands and shake the dice around quite audibly a good five six seconds before dropping them into an area of the table in my opponents view and relatively model free. I would wager they fall a good three or four inches from my hands before splashing onto the table. Would you guys slow play me or is that fair enough?


Seems fair enough. Personally, I hate people's dice hitting my models, even unpainted. Still disrespectful if not clearly accidental and apologised for.


mcmuffin said:


> I responded by 20-0ing him anyway, but it annoyed me to no end


Good. Feel free to PM me who. :wink:


Turnip86 said:


> I use my right hand, shake vigorously and release all over the table.
> 
> Occasionally I'll use my left.
> 
> ...


 No clue what you mean...:read:


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## Warlord_Winters (May 2, 2012)

Turnip86 said:


> I use my right hand, shake vigorously and release all over the table.
> 
> Occasionally I'll use my left.
> 
> ...


 
makes it feel like a stranger is rolling your dice


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## Shady ed (Sep 9, 2010)

I use the dice launcher 5000.


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## Silens (Dec 26, 2010)

The type of dice rolling that pissed me off is the type that destroys an entire unit.. And not by rolling high numbers. Kids in the shop and in club seem to just love launching a barely opened block of dice at your shiny new minis and taking them all out with dice going everywhere. A similar type of rolling I hate is the "Look how high I can drop these from!" and it just means the dice go everywhere and I confiscate a child's legs for being a stupid fucking idiot. I see very little foul-play going on, though one of my friends quite regularly "accidentally" picks up the odd 3 on a 4+ roll or rolls them right over by him behind a convenient piece of scenery.


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## Crimson Shadow (Jan 15, 2009)

You could always use a dice tower.










Rolls the same for everyone, and keeps dice from bouncing off models. I've often thought of building one of these myself.


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## Jace of Ultramar (Aug 2, 2011)

Sothot said:


> See, I don't like throwing dice around the table where they bounce off models and knock things around like some people I've played with (one who insisted on"shooting" dice at his squads's target, no less) so I cup my hands and shake the dice around quite audibly a good five six seconds before dropping them into an area of the table in my opponents view and relatively model free. I would wager they fall a good three or four inches from my hands before splashing onto the table. Would you guys slow play me or is that fair enough?


That's absolutely fair. I have problems with people who seem to 'roll' but the don't shake the dice, nor do the dice move across the table when they connect with it. That's just bad playing. In those instances, I'll give a warning before storing models from the table top.


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## HOBO (Dec 7, 2007)

We use a high-sided area built onto the end of our tables, so none of our painted models get damaged. We also only use Casino Dice.

My son had an issue with some smart-arse 16 yo at the LGS recently, when almost every time he rolled the dice they were bouncing off my son's painted models. His models were completely unpainted except for Primer so he probably didn't think it was a big deal, well until my son pointed out to him that it was a big deal to him, and he should show the same courtesy and roll in the same area my son was rolling in to avoid hitting his unpainted models. 
Being with 4 mates the 16 yo thought he had the upper hand, so made some smart arse comment like 'what you gonna do about it', which was the second error in judgment he made. The 5 of them did finally make one smart decision that day by leaving the store very soon after.


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## scscofield (May 23, 2011)

I just scoop them all up after laying them out in stacks of 4 or 5 so I know I have the right count. I then drop them just above the table opening my hands outwards. There isn't enough texture on the boards at my FLGS, any real solid roll has them shooting across the store.


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## Zion (May 31, 2011)

Count out the dice I'll need, preferably with different colors to help differentiate between different weapons, give them a vigorous shake and roll in a clear area to avoid hitting models or ending under vehicles or in terrain (failing that I roll into a box (lids from Battleforces work well for this) either way I always reroll cocked dice no matter how small if they don't like flat and level, it takes a couple extra seconds but it's faster than alternatives like balancing dice on top to see if it's more towards one side or not and since I reroll all of them it means that I reroll my possible successes as well, just to be fair), then remove misses, then roll the dice that hit for wounds and remove the number of failures and then give the final count to my opponent. It's fairly quick (especially if you keep your dice in neat little piles to draw from) and works well for providing for a way to an easy to understand and fair method for both me and any other players at the table.


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## kiro the avenger! (Nov 8, 2010)

Some opponents roll dice using the drop method
Or they roll dice under or behind terrain and somehow roll 6s
Also they roll them while I'm talking to the players next to me my team mates and also roll 6s


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## Digg40k (Sep 7, 2008)

Generally I hold my dice by cupping both my hands, give them a good shake and then release them straight down so that they don't go flying everywhere hitting models.


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## Turnip86 (Oct 7, 2011)

To be honest last time I played I was using my entire nid army in an 1850 point game and really I only have about 1500 points of nids so tooled every unit up as much as I could to hit 1850. Consequently I was rolling about 40 dice in combat with rerolls to hit with my CC warriors and rerolls to wound thanks to TS. Needless to say it was messy with rolling and I always had one person helping to pick out the hits (and in the case of genestealers the rending wounds) and wounds that needed rerolling. I don't know if it's just me but I sometimes miss the odd dice that actually missed (or hit, goes both ways sometimes) so it's good to have an extra pair of eyes.

As for where I roll, I do it on the table where there's no models, shake dice heavily in hand and in a 'pushing' movement throw on the table, hopefully not hard enough to make them go everywhere. 

For ordinance or anything else that scatters I try and do it fairly close to the target so there's less chance of someone complaining that it's not the correct angle of scatter


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## Silens (Dec 26, 2010)

When rolling a lot of dice (Like 50) I will cup them all in two hands and hold my hands practically on the table, almost placing them down when I open my hands; there's enough of a drop for them to jostle about and any dice that land on top of others get re-rolled.


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## kaboot (Jan 4, 2012)

i used to roll dice, then i took an arrow to the knee


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## kiro the avenger! (Nov 8, 2010)

Another tactic I see is not rolling any dice at all and just saying 'five of your guys dead'
'really, how'
'I shot them'
'With what?'
'My termies'
'You didnt roll dice'
'Yeah I did'
Etc

Edit: I like the dice tower: I'll make it out of clear plastic though


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## TheKingElessar (Mar 31, 2009)

If my opponent doesn't attempt to roll the dice clearly when I'm looking, then they didn't roll them. If I'm ignoring them and not looking at the game, then fair enough it's my own fault.


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## Antonius (Jan 10, 2012)

I always try to roll into my hand, so that at least i have the ability to "roll" rather than simply drop, as often i play on tables with either dense terrain or where it flies off in every direction. Although i also favour the casual drop method (but i make sure that i actually have some sense of rolling it - and i don't set all the dice prior to drop etc etc). Tbf if you need to use rolling to create your advantage, then you are frankly a poor sportsman and are basically ruining 40k for me and others as a gamer. And if your cheating, it usually means you might be at a significant disadvantage otherwise (else why the hell would you do it other than for a High win/Loss ratio), so people should be more focussed on generalship than a few damn dice rolling shenanigans. Cheating in 40k is pathetic because it destroys the idea of winning, and 40k is designed to be FUN and fair, not powergaming.

And mistakes happen, i get that, but i think you have to be wary (but not arsey either - i had someone who was getting pissed off because of my accidental error of nudging a template when checking model count, because i was on the other side of the table), particularly at tournaments, of iffy moves (both by accident and by intention - 99.9% are the former). Quietly asking your opponent to re-roll if not totally satisfied (or reminding them that they should leave successful dice rolls, and remove failures, so i can see the result properly).


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## Archaon18 (Feb 17, 2012)

The thing is, even if they roll it low above the table, it's not as if they turn them over in their hands so they will roll 6's so it really does not matter, in the grand scheme of things


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## TheKingElessar (Mar 31, 2009)

Well, most of the time that's true - but they have the option. Players should do everything in their power to avoid the appearance of cheating, the fact is less important.


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## Magpie_Oz (Jan 16, 2012)

I agree, always best to make a clear indication you are playing a fair game. Two hands cupped a good shake and a controlled release onto the table and you can't go wrong I reckon.


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## falcoso (Apr 7, 2012)

Whenever I play a game against my friend he really pisses me of because for important rolls he rolls each dice one at a time really slowly and miraculously saves every single armour on that one unit causing all my guys to get hammered. Then when I tell him to roll them all at once he puts them all in his hand and still slowly rolls them - and fits me with that titan to wipe out that unit a bit to close for his liking :ireful2:

Personally i just roll them or if a large amount drop them but this guys really irritates me


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## HOGGLORD (Jan 25, 2012)

I'll shake them all for 2-5 seconds and drop 'em from 3-4" from the table. Unless it's a single shot/attack of importance, like sicarus' special attack or a single lasgun pot-shot, in which case I spin it, much more suspenseful...


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## Warlord_Winters (May 2, 2012)

i saw a guy once who likes using dice between the size of the GW Dice "in that litte die shaped box" and those normal white ones you get with regular board games because "the weight of the dice lets them roll better so you get higher numbers"


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## JAMOB (Dec 30, 2010)

Warlord_Winters said:


> i saw a guy once who likes using dice between the size of the GW Dice "in that litte die shaped box" and those normal white ones you get with regular board games because "the weight of the dice lets them roll better so you get higher numbers"


so he weighted his dice? Is that what he's saying?


.....................................


:suicide:


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## Warlord_Winters (May 2, 2012)

JAMOB said:


> so he weighted his dice? Is that what he's saying?
> 
> 
> .....................................
> ...


naw, I guess he just came to the conclusion that a certain type of dice gave him a higher chance of rolling higher numbers, I really don't think that would work though unless he did infact have loaded dice


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## SGMAlice (Aug 13, 2010)

Warlord_Winters said:


> naw, I guess he just came to the conclusion that a certain type of dice gave him a higher chance of rolling higher numbers, I really don't think that would work though unless he did infact have loaded dice


Stupid People Are Amusing, No?




I use two different size dice for no apparent reason other than the bigger ones are awesome.

Casino Dice for general rolling and the Big Gun Dice that GW sold a while ago (maybe still do) for Artillery Dice (Scatter&2D6)

Alice


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## Marius_Ruberu (Feb 15, 2012)

I used casino dice for single shots and saves because you can see through them and know i'm not cheeting. Otherwise, I just cup both hands shake 3-4 secs and drop 2-3 iches above table with a good toss to send them about 5 inches away from my hand. I'm lucky cause most of the guys I play with roll the same way I do. Against people that just drop the dice, I politely say to give the dice a little more of a shake and a throw, if they decline my offer, I dont play against them anymore.


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## TheKingElessar (Mar 31, 2009)

When you guys say 'casino dice' you mean those large, weighty, designed to roll on a flat surface and bounce off an object, dice, right?


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## Ramsese Niblick 3rd (May 19, 2012)

"Are you sure you can handle giving all those dice a decent shake, buddy?" or "Do you want me to fetch you a cup to role all those in, coz you only got little hands?"

Only use incase of cheating basterds, but usually does the trick.


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## mcmuffin (Mar 1, 2009)

TheKingElessar said:


> When you guys say 'casino dice' you mean those large, weighty, designed to roll on a flat surface and bounce off an object, dice, right?


They don't have to bounce off object dice, casino dice are just perfectly weighted dice


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## TheKingElessar (Mar 31, 2009)

casino dice are designed for casino conditions. Not felt mats.


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## Jace of Ultramar (Aug 2, 2011)

TheKingElessar said:


> casino dice are designed for casino conditions. Not felt mats.


?????????????


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## Warlord_Winters (May 2, 2012)

TheKingElessar said:


> casino dice are designed for casino conditions. Not felt mats.


 
um casinos use felt mats


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## Jace of Ultramar (Aug 2, 2011)

Warlord_Winters said:


> um casinos use felt mats


Yeah, that's what I was thinking too.


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## Marius_Ruberu (Feb 15, 2012)

My Casino dice are the huge clear red ones. I dont know if they are the same every where but, Mine work great on the felt mats at my local store. Mine do bounce alittle bit on the plastic tables we use so I make sure they are away from anyones models.


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## Eleven (Nov 6, 2008)

Hebr those people are just trying to keep the dice from flying all around the table and knocking unto things and getting lost. If ou think people go home and practice rolling dice so that they come up with 6s then you are either paranoid or you play with some real bastards. 

I think you should just relax a bit. Sit down and try to roll 6s on a dice by manipulating how it rolls. You will find that it's not easy an to get it to wok you have to be very very obvious about it. The guys you are talking about are probably not thinking about "cheating" and are finding you to be ridiculously anal.


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## Woodzee316 (Sep 11, 2010)

i use the warhammer dice app on my iphone that way it gives random resaults each time and when your rolling over 100 dice (which i've had to do with my orks before  ) it is alot easier. all you do is put in the amount of dice required the target number and how many rerolls and it just gives you the resaults of how many successful dice were rolled. my friends and i use it all the time takes away any chance of cheating and also no chance of hitting models.


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## falcoso (Apr 7, 2012)

And what is the name of this app? I could make good use of it. Also what's wrong with using the standard GW dice instead of casino dice?


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## Arcane (Feb 17, 2009)

Casino dice have perfectly crisp edges. Cheaper dice, which appearing to have uniform rounded edges, are not actually uniform. So Casino dice are actually more random, and thus more fair. Also since they are clear, it's obvious there are no air bumbles or weights to them.

A decorative die, like a marbled, speckled etc die, will be made with different types of plastic and paint so one die can vary to the other in a set. Casino dice are uniformly made from one material in a set, so all will roll the same. 

Essentially casino dice are made to be uniformly random to the nearest extent that is possible. Common hobby dice are made to look cool. This is because Casino dice are tooled, hobby dice are molded. Molding is an inexact science.

See the sharp edges and how each dice is exactly the same?


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## falcoso (Apr 7, 2012)

Thanks for clearing that up, so where do you guys get yours from, because tbh I like them with crisp edges (unless they are the big gun dice because they are just plain awesome)


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## TheReverend (Dec 2, 2007)

I brought an electronic dice at the games fair last weekend, that's pretty cool. I haven't 'rolled' it 10,000 times yet so I don't know how 'random' it is, but it has flashing light sand sounds like R2D2 when you 'roll' it so I'm happy


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## Kastle (Feb 28, 2010)

hmm...my preferred method...roll the bunch, and take any who failed to perform and chuck them across the room... and never pick them back up, they are unworthy...


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## humakt (Jan 2, 2008)

Rolling an inch above the table seems like cheating, but as has been said it could be just stop dice scattering to all ends of the board.


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## Serpion5 (Mar 19, 2010)

I raise them in a my hands above the table, beseeching Aza'gorod to infuse them with the power of death before hurling them down with a mighty roar.


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## Zetronus (May 9, 2012)

lol!

that sounds like my friends style of play right there!


strangely it seems I am the only one whom has posted that actually rolls the dice into a box-lid - much safer and you get a good satisfying roll!


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## maddermax (May 12, 2008)

Arcane said:


> Casino dice have perfectly crisp edges. Cheaper dice, which appearing to have uniform rounded edges, are not actually uniform. So Casino dice are actually more random, and thus more fair. Also since they are clear, it's obvious there are no air bumbles or weights to them.
> 
> A decorative die, like a marbled, speckled etc die, will be made with different types of plastic and paint so one die can vary to the other in a set. Casino dice are uniformly made from one material in a set, so all will roll the same.
> 
> ...


There are serious drawbacks to using casino dice though. They do not roll well at all, and to ensure randomness they have to be given a good toss - they're meant to be thrown down a table and bounce of the end, after all. Because of their flat sides, they need that sort of motion to ensure randomness - a casually dropped casino die is far more likely to just hit down on one side and not roll much, if at all, while a rounded edge dice will be far more random in its rolling.

Meanwhile, while they are far more uniformly random when given a good roll, the difference in randomness between them and a normal reasonable quality round edged die is so small as to be insignificant for the most part. Get a clear die if you're worried about air bubbles, but you'd be very unlucky to get a dice with a fault that made any significant difference.

For most players, rounded dice with a reasonable roll are the best option, especially on crowded tables where you don't want to have to throw sharp dice with any sort of force, lest a bad bounce bang into something.


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## dtq (Feb 19, 2009)

House rules here, dice go in a cup get a good shake and rolled into a box lid. Avoids any cheating or model damage.


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## jaysen (Jul 7, 2011)

Hmm, I generally role like most people here. I vigorously shake the dice for a few seconds, then gently drop them on the table, trying to avoid dice mishaps.

This guy who miffed me last weekend was not shaking the dice at all, just cupping them and dropping them. They didn't role or turn over after hitting the table, just stayed where they dropped on 6's. He did it once when he needed to penetrate my land raider and then again when I took a shot at his lone terminator with a lascannon and he needed a 5+ save. The lascannon shot meant the game, since the terminator was on the game deciding objective.

Whether he was cheating or not, it definitely looked as if he was. Next time I play this guy, I'll attempt to call him on it early in the game in a fair and non-confrontational way if I can. Maybe I'll bring along a shoe box for rolling dice.


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