In 2012, Eric Harshbarger, a mathematician and senior lecturer at Auburn University in Alabama, was challenged by a board game designer to create unique dice that could determine the starting player in a game without the possibility of a tie. The goal was to expedite the game setup process and get players into the action swiftly.
Harshbarger embraced the challenge, seeing it as an intriguing problem that required a non-obvious solution, which mathematicians often find appealing. While he initially conceptualized a set of dice that could provide an equal chance of winning for each player and eliminate ties, the practical implementation of such dice proved to be complex.
After nearly 15 years of collaboration with colleagues, Harshbarger successfully developed the Go First Dice for five players. These innovative dice ensure a fair and decisive outcome from a single roll, resolving the longstanding issue of tie-breakers in board games.
Throughout the project, Harshbarger served as a steward, overseeing contributions from approximately 20 computer scientists and mathematicians worldwide. The team quickly devised a set of four 12-sided dice for up to four players, guaranteeing a statistically fair result with a winner every time. However, designing dice for five players presented a more significant challenge.
Despite facing mathematical feasibility, the researchers grappled with translating the solution into tangible dice structures. After a series of theories and refinements, a breakthrough came when a researcher in Australia proposed using five 120-sided dice. Subsequently, a Canadian software engineer, Paul Meyer, made a vital contribution by devising a solution with five 60-sided dice.
The meticulous computational approach led by Meyer, leveraging mathematical patterns and extensive computer searches, culminated in the successful design of the golf-ball-sized Go First Dice. While some skeptics question the practical application of the dice, Harshbarger affirms the mathematical integrity of the design, attributing any imperfections to the manufacturing process.
Meyer has now joined the research group, continuing their exploration of dice configurations for different player counts. The team is investigating whether fewer sides could suffice for a five-player set and the potential expansion of the concept to accommodate six players. Despite current limitations in mathematical and computational tools, Harshbarger remains open to unexpected breakthroughs, recognizing the inherent allure of unresolved mathematical puzzles.