Re:How Gaming Got Its Dice (2013)
by failrate on Wednesday June 14, 2017 @03:39PM
(#14555428)
The implication in the article is that humans will be doing this on the fly. This solution does not fit with that criterion.
[ Parent
| on HN ]
That's an easy algorithm to do on the fly. Take two d6s that can be distinguished (different color, for example). Call them A and B.
Roll A and B. If A is a 6, reroll A until it is not 6. If B is even, take A as your result. If B is odd, take A+5 as your result. (I changed to use B odd/even instead of B <= 3 because that might be easier for people).
That gives you a number from 1 to 10. Subtract 1 if you need 0 to 9.
If your two d6s cannot be distinguished, take the one that lands leftmost to be A.
No. I won't do any of that. Most games already have enough essential complexity that all of its components must be able to be interpreted at a glance. D20s and D10s make this easy and intuitive without requiring an algorithm or mathematical post-process.