In 2012, at a gaming convention, board game designer posed a challenge to mathematician Eric Harshbarger: create dice to determine the starting player without any chance of a tie. Harshbarger, a senior lecturer at Auburn University and a mathematician, embraced the problem as it intrigued his mathematical mind. After years of effort, Harshbarger and his team devised a set of dice called the Go First Dice for five players, ensuring a fair and decisive outcome with a single roll.
Initially, Harshbarger worked on a solution with four 12-sided dice, quickly achieving success for two to four players. However, determining a solution for five players posed a greater challenge. The team explored various possibilities, eventually settling on a set of five 120-sided dice, proposed by a researcher from Australia. Subsequently, a Canadian software engineer, Paul Meyer, introduced a breakthrough solution using five 60-sided dice.
Despite the vast computational search involved in creating the dice, the team’s efforts paid off. The dice are now available for purchase, designed to guarantee fairness in determining the starting player. Harshbarger emphasizes the dice’s mathematical integrity, attributing any potential imperfections to the manufacturing process rather than the underlying mathematics.
Looking ahead, the research team continues to investigate if fewer sides could suffice for a five-player set, with a minimum of 30 sides identified so far. They also explore the feasibility of extending the concept to accommodate six players. Harshbarger acknowledges the possibility of new theories emerging, highlighting the unpredictable nature of mathematical problem-solving that keeps researchers engaged in such challenges.