[019] Making Games Every Day for a Month, Day 7 of 31: d6

"God does not play dice with the universe." - Albert Einstein

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Today we're making a single die.

There are lots of games that involve dice, and the idea of a dice roll is very old. Randomness is found in some of the very oldest games, like the Egyptian game of Senet and the Mesopotamian Royal Game of Ur. Some games use a handful of sticks as a random number generator. Other games use bones.

Historically, the knucklebones of sheep or other domesticated animals were made into dice very easily. They work pretty much out of the box (or, more accurately, out of the ungulate). They can also be carved into more equilateral shapes.

It's my understanding that dice were not always seen as random, at least not the way we think of it today. To a modern mind, true randomness is totally unshackled to any force or influence. A dice roll should be equally probably on all sides, if it is a fair die.

This isn't a totally common perception, if you look through all the time and space human beings have been playing with randomness. Some people say spirits play games along with you. Some say Fate or Fortune smiles or frowns upon you, depending upon your Piety or Luck. These aren't metaphors for randomness. There is a common and true belief in the supernatural power of dice to reveal the wishes of the Other World.

I also love to play psychic games with dice. All you have to do is guess a number, and give it a roll. If you're right, you're on the right track, and Fortune is smiling upon you. If not, try again.

Roll some bones. Throw your Fate into the hands of the spirits.

See you tomorrow.

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"For the true heavens are everywhere, even where you stand and walk. If your spirit grasps the innermost birth of God and penetrates the sidereal and fleshy birth then it is already in heaven." - Jakob Boehme