About the six-sided die
The d6 is the classic cube, marked with pips from one to six, and the most widely used die in the world. Its opposite faces always add up to 7 — 1 opposite 6, 2 opposite 5, 3 opposite 4 — a convention so old it is found on ancient dice. Each face has a 1-in-6 chance, and the average roll is 3.5.
Western, Asian and casino dice
Most Western dice have black or white pips of equal size, often with a larger single pip on the 1. Chinese and many other Asian dice paint the 1 and the 4 red. Casino dice are different again: precision-made, usually translucent red, with sharp edges and pips filled flush so that the cube stays perfectly balanced — typically about 19 mm (¾ inch) across. The ivory set on this roller has a red 1, a nod to both traditions.
A very old shape
Six-sided dice are among the oldest gaming tools known. Cubic dice have been excavated at sites such as Shahr-e Sukhteh ("the Burnt City") in Iran and across the Indus Valley, dating back roughly 4,500–5,000 years, and the cube has been the standard die ever since.
Rolling several d6s: the bell curve
One d6 is flat — every number equally likely. Add dice together and the totals bunch towards the middle. With three d6s, the method early role-playing games used to roll character abilities, a 10 or 11 is 27 times as likely as an 18:
| Total | Ways | Chance | Odds | This or higher |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 1 | 0.46% | 1 in 216 | 100% |
| 4 | 3 | 1.39% | 1 in 72 | 99.5% |
| 5 | 6 | 2.78% | 1 in 36 | 98.1% |
| 6 | 10 | 4.63% | 1 in 21.6 | 95.4% |
| 7 | 15 | 6.94% | 1 in 14.4 | 90.7% |
| 8 | 21 | 9.72% | 1 in 10.3 | 83.8% |
| 9 | 25 | 11.6% | 1 in 8.6 | 74.1% |
| 10 | 27 | 12.5% | 1 in 8 | 62.5% |
| 11 | 27 | 12.5% | 1 in 8 | 50% |
| 12 | 25 | 11.6% | 1 in 8.6 | 37.5% |
| 13 | 21 | 9.72% | 1 in 10.3 | 25.9% |
| 14 | 15 | 6.94% | 1 in 14.4 | 16.2% |
| 15 | 10 | 4.63% | 1 in 21.6 | 9.26% |
| 16 | 6 | 2.78% | 1 in 36 | 4.63% |
| 17 | 3 | 1.39% | 1 in 72 | 1.85% |
| 18 | 1 | 0.46% | 1 in 216 | 0.46% |
Where you will roll d6s
- Board games: Monopoly and Catan (two dice), Yahtzee (five), Risk (up to three attacking and two defending), backgammon.
- D&D: shortswords and handaxes (1d6), greatswords (2d6), sneak attack, and Fireball at 8d6.
- Wargames and dice pools: many systems roll handfuls of d6s and count the 5s and 6s.