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Baffle box rolling procedure

Posted By: Daniel Murphy
Date: Tuesday, 13 March 2012, at 5:05 p.m.

In Response To: Baffle box rolling procedure (Tom Keith)

1. Tom writes If you can't depend on the baffle box to produce random rolls, then what is the point of using one? but goes on to give a give a partial answer:

Fewer arguments over "legally acceptable rolls."

Less "cocked dice, dice on the floor, prolonged shaking."

Fewer suspicions: Jason: "Be sure you understand: I'm not saying one would be able to affect these probabilities, merely that it might be possible. To avoid any possibility of accusations of impropriety, dice should be rolled into the baffle box out of a cup, so that one could not directly affect the orientation of the dice coming out of the cup." Colin: "If you had to play a match, to save your life, and you were told that your opponent was a master dice mechanic - would you choose to use cups, or cups and a baffle box?!"

Should I take it that when using a director-approved baffle box without cups, you'd have absolutely no objection to your opponent carefully juxtaposing the two dice in particular configurations before dropping them? If you would object, why? Aren't you confident that the baffle box produces random rolls?

2. Tom writes What does "simultaneously" mean? Well, what does "fall together" mean? Who decides what "steady hand" means? Do we need more stickling rules?

3. Tom writes Anecdotes about people thinking they see nonrandomness are not convincing to me. I agree. Similarly, unsupported assertions that it's impossible to cheat or try to cheat with a [well-designed] baffle box don't persuade me. The only persons here giving first-hand testimony on that score -- and all to the contrary -- are Bob G., Gregg C. and Neil K.

4. Michael writes The box is designed to generate random rolls Right, that's its purpose. It probably works. But a few minutes of "testing" doesn't prove that it is impossible to cheat with it. Neil: "A former roommate of his told me that said cheat spent 8 hours/day for 6 months learning how to throw the dice thru his box to increase his chances of rolling what he needed."

Such a fuss over cups. Using them takes little time. Using them might help. Hard to see how it hurts.

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