In a 2012 encounter at a gaming convention, a board game designer posed a challenge to mathematician Eric Harshbarger: create unique dice to determine the starting player without the chance of a tie. Harshbarger, a senior lecturer at Auburn University, saw this as an intriguing problem that mathematicians relish—solving non-obvious queries.
After years of collaboration with various experts worldwide, Harshbarger and his team managed to develop a set of dice – the Go First Dice for five players. These dice ensure a fair outcome with a guaranteed winner from a single roll, effectively solving the longstanding puzzle.
Initially, crafting dice for fewer players was relatively quick, but devising a solution for five players proved to be a formidable challenge. The team explored numerous theories and eventually settled on five 120-sided dice, a practical solution proposed by an Australian researcher.
A breakthrough emerged when Canadian software engineer Paul Meyer joined the project and discovered a solution using five 60-sided dice. The meticulous approach involved mathematical patterns and extensive computational searches to achieve the desired result, leading to the production of golf-ball-sized dice now available in the market.
While some skepticism exists regarding the practical application of these dice, Harshbarger assures that the underlying mathematics guarantee fairness. The research group continues to investigate the possibility of reducing sides for a five-player set and expanding the concept to accommodate six players, anticipating unforeseen challenges and novel solutions in their ongoing quest.