During a gaming convention dinner in 2012, a board game designer challenged mathematician Eric Harshbarger to create dice that would determine the starting player without the chance of a tie. Harshbarger, a mathematician and senior lecturer at Auburn University, found the challenge intriguing and set out to solve it.
After years of collaboration with computer scientists and mathematicians worldwide, Harshbarger and his team developed a set of dice that could determine the starting player for two, three, or four players with guaranteed fairness. However, designing dice for five players proved to be a more complex task.
Despite initial challenges, the team persevered, exploring various solutions until a breakthrough occurred when a researcher from Australia proposed using five 120-sided dice. Subsequently, a Canadian software engineer named Paul Meyer joined the effort and successfully devised a solution using five 60-sided dice.
The newly invented “Go First Dice” are now available for purchase, designed to ensure fair gameplay with no ties. While some researchers have raised concerns about practical implementation, Harshbarger asserts that the dice are mathematically sound and any imperfections would stem from the manufacturing process.
The research group continues to investigate the possibility of using fewer sides for a five-player set and expanding the concept to accommodate six players. Harshbarger acknowledges the unpredictability of the process but remains fascinated by the mathematical beauty and complexity of the problem.