In 2012, mathematician Eric Harshbarger was approached at a gaming convention by a board game designer seeking a solution for dice that could determine the first player without the risk of a tie. The objective was to expedite the game’s start. Harshbarger, a senior lecturer at Auburn University, found the challenge intriguing as it lacked a straightforward answer, appealing to his mathematical expertise.
After years of collaboration with computer scientists and mathematicians worldwide, Harshbarger and his team successfully developed a series of 12-sided dice for two, three, and four players, ensuring a decisive outcome for each roll. However, designing dice for five players proved to be a more complex task.
Initially considering dice with an impractical 1,440 sides, the team gradually refined their approach, eventually settling on a set of five 120-sided dice. Subsequently, a Canadian researcher, Paul Meyer, joined the project and proposed a practical solution using five 60-sided dice.
Meyer’s computational approach, leveraging mathematical patterns and extensive search algorithms, led to a successful outcome. The resulting golf-ball-sized dice are now commercially available, designed to deliver fairness in determining the starting player.
Ongoing research aims to explore the possibility of using fewer sides for a five-player set, with 30 sides identified as the minimum requirement. The team remains open to unexpected breakthroughs, acknowledging the inherent unpredictability and allure of mathematical challenges.