Every wargamer has lived it. That fateful roll of the dice where probability takes a holiday and betrayal becomes inevitable. Whether you’re storming the beaches, charging with cavalry, or just trying to pass the simplest morale check in the world, those plastic cubes have a way of laughing at us when it matters most.
In my latest video, I tackle the age-old truth: our dice hate us. This isn’t just superstition. It’s a lived experience, backed by decades of disasters. I’ll share some of the classic coping strategies gamers have used to deal with cursed dice — from fiery executions and hammer-smash justice, to melting them in ovens (toxic fumes optional) and my personal favourite: the ritual sacrifice. Because nothing says “behave” like destroying a bad die in full view of its brethren.
But the real meat of the video is in the stories. My own dice disasters are legendary in our group, the Posties Rejects. I relive the infamous Battle of Hal, a catastrophe so bad it still makes my fellow gamers wince. I recall the time I accidentally ended my wife’s RPG career with one bad roll in Call of Cthulhu. And I share how my children discovered — the hard way — that the dice curse is hereditary.
For miniature painters, tabletop generals, and anyone who loves the hobby, this video is part confessional, part comedy, and part therapy session. Because in the end, wargaming isn’t just about winning or losing. It’s about the stories we tell afterwards. And let’s be honest: the best stories are always the ones where the dice utterly betrayed us.
So grab your dice bag, take a deep breath, and join me as we laugh (and cry) at the cruel, hilarious fate that unites every wargamer: rolling ones when it matters most.
Forty or so years ago after one cursed game, my dice were introduced to my geology hammer, pour encourager les autres.
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ReplyDeleteVery funny, Lee.
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed that, Lee! From your enthusiasm, you enjoyed making it. We all have so many gaming stories that we could probably fill a book. Not all fall to the fate and fickleness of the dice, though.
ReplyDeleteGreat video, really funny and one that will appeal to any wargamer. Sometimes I wish we could dispense with the little b*stards altogether. But perhaps we should not shoot the messengers; after all, they only convey the fickle diktats of Lady Luck. I have often noticed that one player can't roll the required dice at all in the first half of a game, but then Lady Luck switches her affection and favours him in the second half.
ReplyDeleteThanks for an entertaining piece on a curse we have all experienced. As the only gamer in my regular group without A-level maths, I can still answer the inevitable question "5 misses in a row - what are the odds of that happening?" Sadly I have now reached the age where my favourite d20 is not the one I used to trust to roll high, but the one with readable numbers that show up clearly in black against ivory. Even gamers who use a dice app on a phone suffer from choosing the wrong app that always rolls low
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