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BGonline.org Forums
Meyer Dice Tube
Posted By: Rich Munitz In Response To: Meyer Dice Tube (Stick)
Date: Monday, 2 August 2010, at 3:47 a.m.
Sure, everything will always have positives and negatives. But I have to say from having played numerous matches with a dice tube that I think it is absolutely fabulous.
First of all, the tubes have removable end caps. You pick the two dice to use exactly the same way as you would with clocks and you drop them into the tube and put the end cap back on.
I find that cocked dice definitely happen - perhaps a handful of times per match. But the frequency is really an order of magnitude reduced from normal dice rolling.
Use of the tube SIGNIFICANTLY speeds up play. I find it to create a flow more like playing online where you click the dice and get a roll. I've consistently found when using a clock that you've used under 2 seconds of delay to produce your roll. And very rare cocked dice. And 100% of the time, it is never necessary to touch or reposition the dice on the board because they are in the way of or stuck between the checkers. Having the dice on the playing surface has negatives as well.
Tapping the tube? No problem. In numerous matches I've played thus far, there has yet to be a single question of whether someone has ended their turn. The only irregularities that seem to come up is when used without a clock and someone dances on the bar or is closed out, that people may not tap as required. Of course people learning to use a clock have the same issue. There has never been any case I've witnessed where someone's tap threatened to topple the tube. The removable end caps have a larger diameter than the tube and add stability.
Visibility? I have not found the slightest problem with this. There was one case today where my opponent decided to stand up to look at the board and as a result misread MY dice apparently because of the baffles. As for spectators, has anyone ever tried to watch a match with normal dice rolling? How often are the dice obscured because they land close to the bar or the edge of the board? Spectators all the time are leaning over to see the obscured dice or asking someone else "what was the roll"? I've watched a number of matches played with a tube and have never encountered these problems. The dice are always in a predictable location, right next to one another, and I've never had any difficulty reading them.
Videotaping? This is indeed an issue using a normal camera setup. However, it does appear that by moving the camera a bit further back from the side of the board that it is possible to get an unobstructed view of the dice in the tube (which should be located on the same side of the board as the camera). I asked Brett Meyer about this and he sent me a diagram showing the proper setup and told me that he's videotaped many matches with the tube using the method in the diagram and has not had any issues making out the dice on the video.
Who's turn is it? Every match I've played so far, nobody has paid attention to putting the tube closer to the roller. I think once there was a question about who's roll it was. That was after someone came over and distracted us. The same thing could happen with normal dice rolling. I do agree that a spectator walking over to the board and seeing the dice will not know who's dice they are. But anyone who's been watching the match will be well aware of who's turn it is.
Dice cheating? Just like there's no escape-proof prison, nothing can truly be cheat-proof. However, having two dice selected by the players and then enclosed in a tube, always in full view, and where nobody can ever touch the dice goes a long way in my book towards minimizing the concern of manipulation.
In my opinion, anything that enables play using a single set of dice is a big improvement. Sure, clocks are great. But for non-clocked events or social play, the tube provides a nice mechanism to get people playing with one set of dice that just about everyone can tolerate. Yes, touch move has been suggested as another way. Good luck on that.
Anyway, I could certainly go on. People are always resistant to change. I was a definite skeptic with the dice tube. It is surely not perfect. But I'm a convert. I think it is a big improvement over conventional dice rolling. I believe that most though not all players will agree once they've used it a few times.
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