[ View Thread ] [ Post Response ] [ Return to Index ] [ Read Prev Msg ] [ Read Next Msg ]

BGonline.org Forums

Dice Apps & arc4random_uniform(6)

Posted By: Michael Mesich
Date: Thursday, 23 February 2017, at 6:57 a.m.

We backgammon players do some very strong things to try to ensure as random and true a roll of dice as we can get.

Looking at BG Buddy, I see they use arc4random_uniform(6) to create rolls that "are indestiguishable from truly random numbers." (https://bgbuddyblog.wordpress.com/#talkingDice)

My knee-jerk reaction is to disallow this in tournament play primarily because of the "uniform" aspect. It seems to me that this is something more akin to a "Dice Deck" or Phil Simborg's recent "Domino Backgammon" that, while it may ensure an even distribution of roll outcomes that can be tracked, is nowhere near random as it relies on distributed sets of some magnitude as a constraint.

I feel like the difference between playing with non-precision dice vs precision dice is similar to pseudo-random vs something like Random.org's dice which use atmospheric noise as it's seed for something truly random yet digital.

Views and opinions?

Messages In This Thread

 

Post Response
Your Name:
Your E-Mail Address:
Subject:
Message:

If necessary, enter your password below:

Password:
 

 

[ View Thread ] [ Post Response ] [ Return to Index ] [ Read Prev Msg ] [ Read Next Msg ]

BGonline.org Forums is maintained by Stick with WebBBS 5.12.