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Hey all,

I've been looking into getting a nice little dice collection for my 40k army (I'm still pretty new). I guess dice themselves aren't 40k specific but as I play 40k and it tends to use larger amounts of dice than other games, I'd like some feedback on dice types.

I've noticed there is a variety of dice available. There are little "dice boxes" at the LGS here and I believe they are 12mm beveled edge dice with pips.

There are also larger, 16mm beveled dice with pips.

However, I've also seen what I assume are 15mm dice that are not beveled (the best way I can describe them are casino dice) and they have either pips or actual numbers. They are usually more expensive also.

I like the idea of smaller dice if I have to roll about 40 of them, and from what I've seen from Tau battle reports, with the Eternal's Storm of Fire, that's just about the most I'd realistically roll for any one unit.

But, in a lot of games and battle reports I see the following problems:

1. Little dice scatter everywhere across the table and get stuck in all kinds of dumb places, on model's bases, and inside terrain.
2. Because the dice are beveled (this goes for 12mm and 16mm) they just roll *forever* and launch off the table and halfway across the room.
3. It's just a theory, but beveled dice seem to get stuck in "cocked" positions more often.

Lastly, do you all find pips or actual numbers easier to read? I assume pips because they can't functionally be upside down.

So, before I buy a bunch of dice, I was wondering what you all thought was the best route to go? 12mm? 16mm? Beveled? Casino? Pips or numbers?

Let's hear it!

*Edit for spelling*

I know what you mean about dice rolling wildly during video battle reports, but I don't think it's so much the fault of the dice, as much as what people are doing with them. As long as you don't toss them too hard, they shouldn't go too far, and everything should be fine. Just find an area on the table that's more open and roll gently.

I forgot what battle report group it was, but I remember joking with someone that each time they rolled they basically tossed the dice from a room away. Though while watching someone like Frontline Gaming, or even Mini War Gaming, they tend to not really bounce everywhere, regardless of what dice their use.

What you call casino dice are going to give you the most evenly distributed results, though they are both expensive and cumbersome in large quantities. The chessex block of 36 12mm dice (the ones you describe as beveled) tend to be biased towards certain values. Some have claimed that these values are almost always on the low side, though I find such claims a bit suspect. No experience with the 16mm chessex sets, but I would suspect that they roll a bit more evenly thanks to the straighter edges.

This might help if you are interested in which dice role the most statistically fair results.

Otherwise if you are not interested in eliminating those tiny little differences in probability, pick a colour that goes well with your army, buy whatever is on sale, and don't overthink it.

Your table will have more effect on bounciness than anything else, and how you roll. I 'roll' dice onto the table. No danger. A friend of mine always throws them up in the air. Carnage.

12mm is probably the best if you're rolling loads at once. I use the Koplow 16mm ones, which are quite nice and square edged (but not sharp like casino dice). When you get above 30, though, you have to roll them in batches!!

Wow, thanks guy. The information on the impact of pips and such on dice rolls was pretty fascinating.

Does anyone know a good place to get some custom printed dice (without engravings?)

I see a lot of places that will sell "precision" dice, but they are almost $8 each!

 asorel wrote:
What you call casino dice are going to give you the most evenly distributed results...

Not necessarily. Casino dice are designed to be thrown down the table. If you just roll them, the sharp edges will prevent them from tumbling enough. To truly get the most evenly distributed results, you need precision backgammon dice.

I've honestly never noticed any difference when using dice. I use a variety of them, from Chessex dice, to Casino Dice, to random dice that I find around my house. Never noticed a difference. Maybe it's just me

In my opinion just get Dice you like the look of either that go well with your army or just look cool or serve a purpose, I bought a huge pack of 100 tiny coloured dice that I use for markers like red = soulblaze or blue gone to ground stuff like that makes it easy to keep track, I hate playing if the guy has big casino dice I just feel they're out to break the delicate bits off my models daemonettes especially.

Buy whatever you like. If anyone ever questions them, use your opponant's dice. Just always make sure each dice rolls a good amount (6" minimum imo) and is shaken before hand. But that's just my take on it.

I've always found it odd how people throw 10+ (sometimes 40+) dice onto the table - dice scattering everywhere, rolling off the edge, disappearing into terrain etc.

I get a box lid (usually the lid from a mid-90s predator!) and everything gets rolled into that. There's no difficultly in seeing a result (fairly low box sides). Very rarely a cocked dice. Everyone knows, if it's not in the box, it's not been rolled. If something jumps out of the box, it gets re-rolled into the box. No picking and choosing "well it's a 6 so I'll take it", or "it's a 1, but not in the box, I'll have to re-roll". If someone just randomly drops a dice, there's no "actually, that 6 is a roll for my run range" nonsense.

It's very easy to see results when there are many dice. Just remove the 'fails' and pick up what's left to roll them again. And your opponent can then pick to the successful To Wound dice to take his/her saves.

As far as actual dice go, I use 12mm bevelled. Although the post on statistics is interesting, I personally don't think it makes a difference for a game of toy soldiers. I've never had an issue. It's a bigger deal for casinos. I wouldn't have an issue with playing against someone with different dice. If they appear to be rolling favourably, use my method above - you get favourable rolls for To Wound, the opponent gets favourable rolls for Saves.

Also, get a bunch of different colours, so you can roll for different weapons etc at once.