In 2012, mathematician Eric Harshbarger was challenged by a board game designer to create dice that would determine the starting player without the possibility of a tie. The aim was to expedite the game setup process. Harshbarger, a senior lecturer at Auburn University, found the puzzle intriguing as it lacked an apparent solution, a common attraction for mathematicians.
After years of collaboration with computer scientists and mathematicians worldwide, Harshbarger and his team devised a set of 12-sided dice that could resolve ties for two, three, or four players efficiently. However, creating dice for five players proved to be a more complex task.
After exploring various concepts, including the idea of a die with an impractical 1,440 sides, a breakthrough came when a researcher from Australia proposed a set of five 120-sided dice. Subsequently, a Canadian software engineer named Paul Meyer presented a solution using five 60-sided dice, which was verified and deemed successful.
The meticulously designed dice, available for purchase, have raised some concerns regarding practical implementation, but Harshbarger assures that the mathematical principles behind them ensure fairness. Ongoing research aims to explore the feasibility of using fewer sides for a five-player set and potentially expanding the concept to accommodate six players.
Despite the challenges, Harshbarger remains captivated by the problem’s complexity and the possibility of unexpected solutions emerging in the future. The continuous pursuit of mathematical elegance and the thrill of solving a seemingly trivial yet engaging problem motivate Harshbarger and his team in their ongoing research.
