History of Dice

A die or dice is generally a small object; usually cube shaped used to generate numbers randomly making them ideal for games of chance. The six different sides of the cube are marked with small circular pits or patches called pips. The number of a particular side of a die is denoted by the number of pips on the face usually 1 through 6. Some dice are specialty dice and have symbols or words on them. Dice have been around for thousands of years. The first dice are thought to have been made from the ankle bones of some hoofed animals and bore the nick name of “knucklebones” because of this. Some dice were made of Ivory with later dies being made of wood and most modern die being made of cellulose acetate or plastics. Dice have many nicknames such as ivories, tombstones, bones or shakers. Dice games are games that solely or mainly use a die or set of dice as the main component for playing the game. There are many dice games that are known by multiple names, such as Farkle, also known as Greed, Oh Crap, Zilch and several other names. Another all time favorite is Yahtzee which was originally known as Yatch or Generala. Several dice games require more than one die to play. There are some dice games that only require specialized dice. The only other component in most dice games would be a pad of paper and writing utensil to keep score, however the are some dice games such as Boggle that require other components to play such as a special shaker cup and timer. Grab some dice and lets look at some of the dice games that are out there.


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