Are you rolling your dice wrong?

Every tabletop wargamer knows the feeling: you line up the perfect attack, pick up a fistful of dice… and roll absolute disaster. Again. It’s easy to joke that our dice are cursed, disloyal, or harbouring a personal grudge against our beautifully painted troops. But what if the problem isn’t bad luck at all? What if we’ve been rolling dice “wrong” for years?

In this video, we take a cheerful deep dive into one of tabletop gaming’s most enduring bits of club folklore: the idea that how you roll dice might actually influence the outcome. It’s a topic that sits right at the intersection of probability, superstition, and the wonderfully odd culture of historical and miniature wargaming.

We explore a whole gallery of familiar techniques. There’s the dramatic flick, launching dice across the battlefield like plastic artillery. The long tumble, beloved of casino players and guaranteed to send dice rolling through terrain pieces. The chaotic high drop, which sounds like a bag of gravel hitting a tin roof. We also look at pre-roll shaking rituals, lucky (or banned) hands, and the ever-popular dice cup or tower for players who’d rather let gravity make the decisions.

Along the way, we gently untangle the myth from the maths. Dice are, after all, simple randomising tools governed by physics, not feelings. As long as they’re rolling freely and fairly, the results are effectively random. But that doesn’t mean rolling style is meaningless. Far from it. The way we roll dice affects the pace of the game, the clarity of results, and the shared drama around the table. It’s part performance, part ritual, and part social contract between players.

For historical wargamers and miniature hobbyists, these little habits are part of the wider joy of the hobby. We already spend hours painting figures, building terrain, and recreating battles from the past. A few dice-rolling superstitions fit right in with that blend of history, storytelling, and playful imagination.

This video is ultimately a celebration of those quirks. Whether you’re a careful cup-user, an enthusiastic flicker, or someone who shakes dice like you’re trying to wake them up, you’re not alone. Dice may be random, but the stories and laughs they create at the table are anything but.

The SHOCKING TRUTH of our Cursed Dice: A Wargamer’s Tale of Betrayal

Every wargamer has lived it. That fateful roll of the dice where probability takes a holiday and betrayal becomes inevitable. Whether you’re storming the beaches, charging with cavalry, or just trying to pass the simplest morale check in the world, those plastic cubes have a way of laughing at us when it matters most.

In my latest video, I tackle the age-old truth: our dice hate us. This isn’t just superstition. It’s a lived experience, backed by decades of disasters. I’ll share some of the classic coping strategies gamers have used to deal with cursed dice — from fiery executions and hammer-smash justice, to melting them in ovens (toxic fumes optional) and my personal favourite: the ritual sacrifice. Because nothing says “behave” like destroying a bad die in full view of its brethren.

But the real meat of the video is in the stories. My own dice disasters are legendary in our group, the Posties Rejects. I relive the infamous Battle of Hal, a catastrophe so bad it still makes my fellow gamers wince. I recall the time I accidentally ended my wife’s RPG career with one bad roll in Call of Cthulhu. And I share how my children discovered — the hard way — that the dice curse is hereditary.

For miniature painters, tabletop generals, and anyone who loves the hobby, this video is part confessional, part comedy, and part therapy session. Because in the end, wargaming isn’t just about winning or losing. It’s about the stories we tell afterwards. And let’s be honest: the best stories are always the ones where the dice utterly betrayed us.

So grab your dice bag, take a deep breath, and join me as we laugh (and cry) at the cruel, hilarious fate that unites every wargamer: rolling ones when it matters most.

Dice have no Memory

Wargamers exhibit many superstitious and peculiar behaviours when it comes to their dice. We've all seen it (and probably done these ourselves) but the simple truth is that Dice have no memory.

 

Fistful of Dice Mechanics

Are you a fistful of dice type wargamer or do you prefer single-opposed dice rolls for determining the outcome of a melee? In some forums, this subject seems to divide the opinion of wargamers and the games they choose to play. I on the other hand don't care what dice mechanic is used, so long as it works, is simple to understand, and is easy to remember.

Are you unlucky? Or is is all just chance?

Are you unlucky with your dice, or worse do you have a dice curse? Or is it all in your heads? Are we in fact forgetting to factor experience, skill and confidence into the result and how we perceive it? 

How many dice is too many?

Am I the only wargamer that buys new dice for every rule set I own? I already own THOUSANDS so what's a few hundred more?

Are you throwing your dice wrong?

This week The Quarantined Wargamer take a somewhat tongue-in-cheek look at how we throw dice. Some players I have met have an almost superstitious adherence to 'their method' for throwing dice in a game. They swear it gives them better results than other ways of throwing those little polyhedral randomisers. So today's video takes a look at some of those tried and trusted methods for rolling 'good dice'. 

As you may have noticed this week is the first time I have shifted the video release to Sundays, with a simultaneous announcement here on the blog. I'm hoping that this will free up a bit of time in the week for me to work on other things, but it should also ensure that I'm available to join in 'live' on any discussion in the comments (it not like I'm going anywhere at the weekend for the time being!). 

As usual, if you enjoyed the video please hit the 'Like' button and consider subscribing to my Channel. Until next week, stay safe, keep playing and keep rolling high!

My Dice Hate Me

My ability to fail a crucial morale check or a lose a supposedly unlosable melee has become legendary. Dice are supposed to be randomizers that will give a range of results... But not for me. It's recognised that I consistently underperform when a dice roll is called for, so much so it has become a running joke. Friday's episode of The Quarantined Wargamer I discuss the desperation that a Dice Curse can produce in gamers, and give a few real-world examples of when the dice have let me down. 

As usual, I would ask that if you enjoyed the video you hit the Like button, consider subscribing to my  Channel and join the conversation by leaving your stories in the comments section. Next week I'll be discussing the importance of taking notes or keeping a painting diary. Until then, stay safe and keep rolling high! 

More casualty marker dice frames

Last year I made up a load of casualty markers for my games. I made several sets for single dice, sets of two and three, but I soon realised I needed a few more of the single frames. So while I was at Salute I picked up some more of the little MDF single's (made by Minibits) for a couple of quid. I've now expanded my existing set of single dice frames so I have more than enough for my own gaming needs. I also decided to make some extra frames for Postie, as a small thank you for all the games he runs for the Rejects. 

Plenty of dice frames to go around.

An example of our use of dice as casualty markers.

We often use rule-sets that employ small 5 mm dice as casualty counters and they are forever being knocked over (sometimes even accidentally!) when we move units around. I've done a set of 50 for the shed-o-war which should be ample for pretty much any size game we play in future. 

Casualty Dice Holders

This week I have spent a little time working on some casualty dice holders. Over at Reject HQ we always use small 5mm d6's to keep track of casualties, the problem is we keep knocking the pesky things over. I'm still working on writing up a simple set of Zulu Wars rules and its clear that I'll need to record casualties in the same way, so a handy solution to the dice problem was urgently needed. At first I was considering making my own but quite by chance I found the ideal solution on eBay. Minibits make a range of laser cut mdf dice frames for different size dice so I bought a load suitable for 5mm dice. Yesterday I spent an hour sticking them to round bases and painting and flocking them. 

I would have liked to share a picture of these dice holders containing some actual dice but you'll just have to use your imagination. I have bought a load of 5mm six sided dice from a company in Hong Kong (a ridiculously cheep purchase on eBay) but I think the carrier pigeon delivering them is walking the route! 

Desert Theamed Dice Trays

Earlier in the week Posties Rejects had a run through of our Demo game for this coming weekends Broadside Wargames Show and one of the things we identified as being needed were some dice trays. We don't normally use these but the tables at the show are quite small which means there is no 'spare' table on which to roll dice (and the game surface will be full of terrain). I said I would 'knock up' a couple of dice trays and here are my modest efforts...

The wooden trays are from IKEA and once upon a time were used for storage. I gave them a rub down with some sandpaper and repainted them in sand coloured paint before adding a desert inspired camo pattern. I then glued in some rubber mat in the rolling section of the tray. The smaller section can be used to store dice and measuring tapes. I think they will do the job quite nicely. I may make some more in other colour schemes depending on how well they perform on Sunday.

Below Average

My dice rolling is bad, really really bad. And by that I mean 'defying the laws of physics' bad. In fact the situation has become so dire that the Rejects own Ray has taken to referring to me as "Poor Lee" rather than Big Lee (the git). I'm a normally rational bloke - I don't belive in 'luck' or 'fate' -  but my dice rolling performance is begining to make me wonder if I am cursed. I have another game this Saturday and I fully expect the dice to be just as goddamned awful as they have been in the last few games. So (more with a morbid sense of curiosity than hope) I decided to test my dice throwing mojo.

My methodology is simple. I will roll three different dice ten times each by hand and then repeating the same test using an electronic dice roller. Hardly scientific but it'll do for the puposes of this test.

So the first batch of real dice, rolled from my own cursed hands:

• 10d20.... 2,4,7,2,8,15,1,5,4,3 - Average 5.1 
• 10d10.... 1,1,4,2,5,9,3,1,5,2 - Average 3.3 
• 10d6....   6,1,2,4,3,1,2,1,2,4 - Average 2.6

Dismal, by anyones standards. Now the same again this time a digital dice rolling programme, so no physical contact with any dice:

• 10d20....  4,17,19,11,19,4,18,4,8,18 - Average 13.2 
• 10d10....  8,2,9,9,2,9,10,7,6,8 - Average 7.0
• 10d6....    6,5,4,6,6,2,1,6,4,4 - Average 4.4

Right. I think that confirms I am cursed! I may have to take drastic measures to rectify this, such as wearing gloves or using tongs to handle the dice so my hands don't come into contact and thereby infect them! I could get someone else to throw the dice for me but them I might as well not take part. Another option would be to shake the dice in a clear plastic box with a lid so I can 'roll' without touching them. My personal favourite option however is a bit more extreme but a lot more satisfying. Threatening dire consequences if the dice misbehave. Such as....

Purged by fire!    (source)

Shot at dawn    (source)

Setting them adrift    (source)

Diecicles!    (source)

Pulverised for bad behaviour     (source)

Made to watch while their buddy is executed    (source)

Ground underfoot    (source)

Driller Killer    (source)

You know your dice are bad when you start having psychotic fantasies about destroying them! 

The Battle of Hollands Farm

Posties Rejects gathered on Saturday to play an ACW game using the Fire and Fury Rules. We were joined by MiniMike from the Netherlands who was over in the UK on a holiday. The weather outside was awful with monsoon like conditions sweeping across the South East of England but for those of us inside the weather was unimportant. All that mattered was the battle, which would turn into a fight to the death. 

Postie introduces the scenario and runs through the Order of Battle (detailed below).

Setting the Scene - The Battle of Hollands Farm, 2nd May 1863

Union forces are pushing south on the Confederate far right flank along the east coast. Reynolds, the Union Commanding officer, has orders to build a series of coastal fortifications as he advances to help in the fight against contraband reaching the south, which would include arms and ammunition from Britain and various other factions with Southern sympathies. 

Meanwhile General Longstreet the Confederate commander has been dispatched to halt the Union advance and capture or destroy Fort Hooker (named in honour of the previous commander of the Potomac who was recently replaced by General Meade) which is currently under construction.

The game begins with both armies advancing towards each other just South of Fort Hooker which is just off the table on the coast behind the Union left Flank. The Union must defeat Longstreet in a pitched battle otherwise the army will be forced to retreat, thus abandoning Fort Hooker to the Rebs. All the South are eagerly awaiting news of a victory. If the South loose this fight more Southern soil will be captured by the blue bellies and Southern honor will be insulted.

Order of Battle

Confederate Army (MiniMike, Dave and Ray)

1st Corps C/O – Longstreet

   1st Division – Anderson

      1st Battalion – 2nd Alabama – C*

      2nd Battalion – 1st Alabama – V

      3rd Battalion – 3rd Alabama – V*

      4th Battalion – 5th Alabama - C

      5th Battalion – 4th Alabama – V

      6th Battalion – 6th Alabama – V*

   2nd Division – Jones

      1st Battalion – 2nd Georgia – V

      2nd Battalion – 8th Georgia – C*

      3rd Battalion – 4th Georgia - V

      4th Battalion – 3rd Georgia – V*

      5th Battalion – 1st Georgia – V

   3rd Division – McLaws

      1st Battalion – 3rd South Carolina – V*

      2nd Battalion – 4th South Carolina - V

      3rd Battalion – 2nd South Carolina - V

      4th Battalion – 1st South Carolina – C*

      5th Battalion – 5th South Carolina – V

   Cavalry Division – JEB Stuart

      1st Battalion – Virginian – C*

      2nd Battalion – Louisiana – V

   Confederate Navy

      CS Atlanta – Iron Clad

      CS General Lee – Monitor (Captured)

Union Army (BigLee and Richard)

1st Corps C/O – Reynolds

   1st Division – Wadsworth

      1st Battalion – 3rd New York – C*

      2nd Battalion – 2nd New York – V

      3rd Battalion – 1st New York – V

   2nd Division – Robinson

      1st Battalion – 1st Pennsylvania - V

      2nd Battalion – 4th Pennsylvania – G

 2nd Corp C/O – Couch

   1st Division – Hancock

      1st Battalion – 2nd Michigan - V

      2nd Battalion – 4th Michigan - G

      3rd Battalion – 3rd Michigan – V*

   2nd Division – Gibbon

      1st Battalion – 1st Illinois - V

      2nd Battalion – 3rd Illinois – V

   Cavalry Division – Stoneman

      1st Battalion – New Jersey – V*

      2nd Battalion – New Hampshire - V

   Union Navy

      US Cricket – Paddle Steamer

      US Winnebego – Monitor

      US Seawitch – Small Craft (towing two barges containing a US Marine Battalion)

(V-Veterans  C-Conscript  G-Green  *-Exceptional Leader)

The Action

The Confederate players look across the Battlefield and review their deployment.

All divisions started in column but some made less progress than others because of poor dice rolls.

The Union small craft Sea Witch pulls two barges filled with Marines. It took most of the game for the marines to land and not before the Sea Witch itself was destroyed by enemy fire. 

I moved all my Artillery onto a small hill overlooking most of the Union Left Flank.

Confederate cavalry lead by JEB Stuart try to outflank the Union on the right. 

The evil Postie brings on the Confederate Ironclad CS Atlanta. At this stage all I had to fend it off was the Sea Witch.

The Union right flank stifles the outflanking move of JEB Stuart. In the end the day was saved by the green 4th Pennsylvania who repulsed one cavalry battalion and mauled another.

Back on the Union left flank the Rebs have advanced onto a ridge of high ground and prepare to assault the Union troops who have formed up in strong line under the protection of their guns.

Meanwhile the Union Paddle Steamer Cricket appears on the coast and tries to shield the barges carrying the Marines.

A wider shot showing the Union line and the steady advance of most of the Confederate forces.

A bold move by two battalions of the Union forces strikes out in the center. They remained out there, disrupting the Rebel advance for the rest of the game.

The Rebels crash into the union lines along the edge of the woods and in front of the Union guns on the left flank

Disaster! My dice rolling was appalling as usual and after seeing off one infantry Battalion the Rebs follow through and crash into to artillery batteries. By the end of the melee both guns were lost and the Rebels held the ground.

Meanwhile two Monitors arrive off the coast. The Confederates make use of a captured ship, the CS General Lee, while the Union ship, the US Winnebago, moves to target the Ironclad. 

The Union Left (actually the centre of the Battlefield) holds on against mounting pressure from the rebels. Richards dice rolling was excellent and made up for the terrible dice from my half of the army. 

My troops on the Union left flank were still a strong fighting force at this stage and I decided to launch a counter assault of my own to disrupt the Rebel advance..but more bad dice ruined that plan. 

The ships continued to exchange blows of the coast but the US Paddle steamer
was taking heavy damage and would soon be sunk leaving the Ironclad free to
bombard the shoreline and the Union battalions on their left flank.

Fresh from sweeping aside the Union Artillery the rebels press their assault against the union troops they pushed back earlier in the battle. More terrible dice rolling ensured another Union defeat and this time the whole battalion is pushed back off the table edge. 

My dice rolling was so bad that it was beginning to remind me of my earlier disaster in the Battle of Hal last year.

The Union are being pushed back but the Rebels still don't look all that happy. Casualties were mounting on both sides.

Another view of the Union center (right) showing the rebels have made little headway in their advance.

Now the Dice Gods are just laughing in my face. Four guns from the Monitor against the Rebel Ironclad...and I roll three ones !!!! Needless to say I swore a lot at this point. 

The Rebel Ironclad now starts to bombard the Union troops on shore and there is little they can do about it. 

Fresh Confederate troops are now advancing towards the Union right flank and there it little left to fend this off.

Man of the Match - Richard

Analysis
By the end of the game both sides had taken a mauling but both I and my fellow Union player Richard were convinced it was a resounding confederate victory. When the points were added up they had indeed won but much more narrowly than we had anticipated.

Confederates – 25pts

Union – 21pts 

This is counted as a Confederate Minor Victory but really they had won the ground and effective control of the coast with reserves feeding into the front line. The Union position was untenable and if the game had progressed a few more turns we would have been forced to retreat no matter how much we fought the inevitable. I think we gave the Confederates a bloody nose, but ultimately my uncannily poor dice rolling and their domination of the coast proved too much. Kudos has to go to MiniMike and Dave who both fought tenaciously and pressed their advantage throughout the battle. Well done lads.

So once again my dice rolling was utterly utterly awful. I still enjoyed the game but I am beginning to believe I am cursed. Maybe if I could roll the dice without touching them I may have better luck.... nah, I don't believe that either!

The Dice Gods hate me!

By now some of you will have already seen Fran and Ray's excellent posts about the Rejects game last Saturday. They did such a good job of conveying the wider battle that I thought I would focus just on my little corner of the battlefield, especially as this was where we effectively lost the battle (both tactically and in terms of victory points). You will already know from Fran and Ray's posts that my forces in this game - a division of French cavalry - were charged, routed, trampled on, scattered and destroyed by just two units of Hanoverian Hussars.

Never have any of us seen such appalling dice rolling (on my part) in all our combined experience of wargaming. As you can tell from this picture I was not amused... and this was taken before the worst had happened!

I should give up wargaming and take up Macramé or something! (Picture courtesy of Ray)

Since that utter thrashing I have been trying to find the will to sort through my pictures and write something about the game. I could have posted something yesterday but frankly I was still in shock and just couldn't face the prospect of thinking about it. Now that 48 hours have passed I feel a little more able to ponder my defeat, although I still wince when I think about it.

The game was a what-if scenario and assumed that Blucher had not arrived at Waterloo in time and Wellington had lost the battle. He had been forced to retreat to his planned fall back position at Hal. Unfortunately the troops there are of poor quality and outnumbered, although they have the benefits of good ground on which to fight a defensive battle. The French outnumber their opponents and have better quality troops, but most units are below strength after three days of fighting.

The initial deployment; The allies command the Brussels road but most of their troops are Levy and Militia. The French on the other hand have a lot of elite units, albeit depleted.

I commanded the 1st and 6th Chasseurs a Cheval and the 5th and 6th Lancers and a 6pdr horse artillery battery under the Comte Hippolyte Marie Guillame Pire. Early on in the game (before it all went horribly wrong) I also received reinforcements in the shape of the 12th Cavalry Division, consisting of 2 Carabinier and 2 Curassier units under the command of Baron Nicolas Francois Roussel d'Hurbal. Unfortunately they arrived right behind my advancing Chasseurs and Lancers creating one huge cavalry traffic jam. But, I thought, I just needed one turn of movement to untangle them and all I needed to do was sweep aside the two units of Hanoverian Hussars in front of me....

The arrival of re-enforcements creates a bit of traffic jam, but it'll soon be cleared (which it was, but now I imagined it!). 

The Hussars charge towards the French and my Chasseurs counter-charge  My opponent and I both roll a fist full of dice and...I don't inflict a single kill. In fact I loose both melee by a wide margin, the Hanovarian's snatch both my flags and I then roll impossibly badly for moral (NOW I get a six!). I then roll to see how far they fall back and of course its the maximum, one full move plus six inches taking them through the supporting Lancers and then the Carabiniers and Curassiers crossing behind them (disordering every unit in the process). This is bad, but the worst is still yet to come!

The Lancers flee the advancing Hussars straight through my Curassiers and Carabiniers

The Hussars elect to follow through with their charge and hit the now disordered Lancers who also loose their melee, turn tail and flee through the 12 Cavalry Division behind them. Then the b**dy hussars charge the next rank of French Cavalry, this time the Curassiers who are not only disordered but side-on meaning they get hit in the flank. You guessed it, I loose that melee as well and by now the whole division is in full flight and I'm making (and failing) Brigade and Divisional moral checks left right and centre!! This can't be happening!

"Courir pour les gars des collines, notre commandant est un coq!" 
(Run for the hills lads, our commander is a knob!)

By the end of this massacre-of-epic-proportions the light was fading and the battle drew to a close. But the shear volume of destroyed and dispersed units, not to mention lost flags, meant the Allies won a resounding victory of 20 points to ten.  

To the victor the spoils...and some well deserved smugness! 

As I said earlier, none of us has ever seen a cavalry charge of such devastating proportions, nor are we ever likely to see it again (I hope). But it has to be said that although the Dice Gods clearly had it in for me on Saturday my opponent John was cool under pressure and pursued his advantage ruthlessly despite the odds. My only hope now is that I have used up a lifetimes worth of cr*ppy dice rolls and will have better luck next time! 

A Proper Wargamer?

This is my response to another one of those viral memes that occasionally do the rounds in our little online community. This one was kicked off by Phil Broeders on his blog The Wargaming Site and has been picked up by several other bloggers including Tamsin at The Wargaming Girl, Mike at Trouble at T'Mill, and Vladd at Too Much Free Time. I have decided to apply a points system to this so if you answer yes you get a point, half points can also be earned and of course no points for negative answers. As the first question has two parts the maximum score attainable is therefore 21 points... With the extra questions posed by Phil the maximum is now 57:

** This is an updated version of this article and includes an expanded list based on Phil's Pt 2 Post **

To genuinely call yourself a Wargamer, then you must have done most or all of the following:

* Spent at least £500 on figures / tanks - and you get extra kudos for every £500 you've spent

Oh yes, five hundred quid and then some... definitely get extra kudos for this one  (2 points)

* Pricked your finger or thumb on a pike block - several times
Do the lances on Russian Cossack's count? I took more damage from my own troops in one game than they dealt to the opposition. (1 point)

* Tried at least 10 different rule sets and vowed never to play half of them ever again
Nearly... I own about 7 or 8 WWII rulesets most of which will never get played. Not that this will stop me from buying more in my pursuit of the perfect rules. I also have a couple of ACW rules sets although my F&F rules do get used (½ Point)

* Bought an army off EBay
I have never bought a whole army on eBay, but I have picked up a real bargain or two from here.(0 Points)

* Sold an army on EBay
Never sold on EBay but I guess there's always a first time (0 Points)

* spent months painting an army - then used it in anger once
..or never! If it wasn't for my membership of the Rejects I probably wouldn't get to play at all.(1 Point)

* tried several different periods and genres
Definitely yes. Since joining Posties Rejects I have played dozens of periods, scales and rules sets. (1 Point)

* dropped a box of figures on the floor from a great height
Oh yes...the pain of opening the box and finding all the models in bits still haunts me.(1 Point)

* lost a battle on the last throw of the dice
Moral checks are the bane of my life and on more than one occasion I have lost a battle by failing a moral check even though I was winning tactically. If my life depended on one throw of the dice I'd be a dead man. I find that the more crucial the dice throw the greater the chances are that I'll roll a 1 (1 Point) 

* made at least one enemy for life
Yes, my Mother... oh you mean because of wargaming. Then thankfully the answer is no (0 Point)

* had a proper, stand up argument over a wargamers table
Once, long long ago when I was still a teenager. I like to think I have a matured a bit since then! (1 Point)

* thrown a dice across a room
Several times. I have also taken dice outside and set fire to them, hit them with hammers and even on one occasion cut one in half with an axe! My dice know who's boss... (1 Point)

* rebased an army for a different rule set
Ye gods never. The thought alone makes me shudder. (0 points)

* inflicted a whopping defeat on an opponent
Only once, and I felt so sorry for him after the game it took the shine off the victory.(1 Point)

* suffered an embarrassing defeat due to a stupid tactical decision
Long ago, in a Galaxy far far away... back when I played Warhammer Epic I had a massive Imperial Titan and basically forgot to move it at the start of a crucial turn. All my main guns were unable to come to bare on the enemy and I was so annoyed with myself I nearly broke my fist punching a wall! Did I say I have grown up a lot since then? (1 Point)

* joined a wargamers club
I've never been a 'club' type or person but I guess the Rejects are a sort of club. (½ Point)

* bought a ton of lead that remains unpainted
I did have a big lead mountain. I have made an effort to reduce it in recent years.(½ Point)

* been to a wargamers show
Duh, yes! I love them, as regular readers will know. (1 Point)

* have more dice than is logical or necessary to own - and have used most of them
I have thousands of unnecessary dice in bags, jars and boxes all round the house and I still come home from shows with new sets of dice...its gone beyond obsession and become a mania. I'm sure there must be a clinical name for this disorder but I don't want to be cured. (1 Point)

* have taken boxes of troops down to a club just to show them off to your mates
As already stated I'm not a club man. But I do like showing off my models which is why I started writing this blog. (½ Point)

And now some extra questions....

* You have reference books on each period / army you play (I must have ten samurai books now)

Yes, my 'library' keeps on growing (1 Point)
* Having played so many different games you confidently quote rules for a totally different period, scale or ruleset to the one you're playing at that moment
Hell no, my mastery of rules is shaky at best (0 Points)
* You have lied to your partner / spouse about how much you've spent on the hobby
I've never lied to my wife...I have on occasion been economical with the truth, but I've never lied. (0 Points)
* You get genuinely excited when a package arrives in the post
Most of my parcels get delivered to work and my colleges are used to seeing me rushing through the office to the lunch room gleefully clutching a parcel and grinning like a kid at Christmas. (1 point)
* You have joined a re-enactment society (5 points for this one!)
No, but if I were ten years younger (and 10 stone lighter) I might consider it (0 Points)
* You have played in an unsuitable venue 
My first Warhammer games were played on the floor rather than a table. That was a killer on the knees  I can tell ya. Too old and decrepit for that now! (1 Point) 
* You continue to search for the perfect Napoleonic / WW2 / Ancients / ACW etc. rule set (knowing that it doesn't actually exist).
Currently WWII rules are my obsession and 'money pit' (1 Point)
* For that reason you have developed your own house rules for certain periods.  And think them far superior to the original author's efforts.
Not yet, but I'm on the verge of doing so. (0 Points)
* You have returned from a wargames show and sneaked upstairs to hide the stash.
Life's too short for secrets...and besides I'd only get caught (0 Points)
* You have an irrational aversion to some genres and vow never to play them regardless of how much fun they look.
I can't say I have. I'll play anything and haven't encountered a period I 'hate' (0 points)
* You have made your own wargames scenery.
Yes, lots of it. Its cheaper and its fun in sad way (1 Point)
* You have reached a painting 'wall' 
Often. When I'm in the mood I can paint like the wind, but then I'll just dry up and do something else for a while until the bug bites again. (1 Point)
* You have lost - and regained - your wargaming mojo.
I have spent my time in the wilderness playing other games, but wargaming is a hard addiction to beat (1 Point)
* You have the occasional (and short lived) sense of guilt with your wife/children when complaining to them about the money spent in clothes, shoes or toys/Xbox games when you have £200 of unpainted metal stuffed in an upstairs drawer.
I'm as hypocritical as the next gamer but yes I have had a moments guilt now and again. (1 Point)
* You have done armies in different scales for the same period 
Currently doing WWII in 28mm, 15mm and now 6mm (1 Point)
* You have jealously coveted someone else's troops.
Pretty much every painted army I have seen at shows! (1 Point)
* You have laughed (secretly or otherwise) as someone else's paint job 
Ah yes, the Turquoise Death leap to mind. My friends rather oddly painted Space Marine army...I swear he must have been colour blind or something (1 Point)
* You have provided a piece of useless trivia relating to the troops on the table to show off your wargaming knowledge. 
Yes, and then got slapped down by an even bigger nerd who knew his stuff better than me! (1 point)
* You have contradicted someone elses' trivia - demonstrating your superior knowledge and giving you a warm glow inside.
Revenge is a dish best served hot! (1 Point)
* You have caused a major disaster on a wargames table (spilling a pint, collapsing the table, dropped someone else's figures on the floor). 
I've knocked the occasional bit of scenery over but thankfully nothing big and catastrophic (0 Points)
* You have cheered when an opponent's dice lets them down at a critical point (I have literally danced in front of someone when he failed a morale roll) 
I have done the War Dance too, I'm ashamed to say (1 point)
* You have lied to your partner about going gaming.  "Mothers' not very well - just popping around to see her.  I'll be back in about - oh - seven hours".
See my earlier answer about not lying to the wife! (0 Points)
* You have lied to an attractive woman (man) about your hobby.  
...except of course back when I was courting her. I didn't admit I was a gamer until we'd been going out long enough I was sure she wouldn't walk out there and then! (1 Point)
* You have made an opponent cry.  It doesn't count if they are under 8 years old though.
No. I'm not that good. (0 Points)
* You have painted the same army in the same scale more than once (Monty, you dawg!)  
No. But there's still time.. (0 Points)
* You have reference books on armies you haven't even got.
Yes. My 'library' is extensive and growing (1 Point)
* You have bought figures for a period you have never and will never play - because they were cheap.
We're all guilty of that, aren't we? (1 Point)
* You have inflicted grievous bodily harm on a dice that has let you down. 
As earlier indicated I have been known to destroy badly performing dice. (1 Point)
* You blog or have a web-page about your Wargaming activities
Clearly that is a yes! (1 point)
* Your book collection is almost all war and wargames related
My wife and I love books and our house is like a library, but mine are almost exclusively military history related. (1 Point)
* You critique 'war' movies (especially Hollywood war movies) for historical accuracy.
Don't get me started! (1 point)
* You spend car / train journeys checking out the lie of the land - considering which way you would attack from and whether it would make good wargaming terrain.
When the muse is upon me I become a motoring menace! (1 Point)

Total 37/57 (65% Wargamer!)

Does a score of 15 from 21 37 from 57 make one a 'proper wargamer' I wonder? Thanks to Phil for the great list and the inspiration. It brought back mostly good memories of over 30 years playing wargames.

Posties Rejects Dice Givaway

I've seen some shameless behaviour in my day but fellow Reject the Angry Lurker has taken the crown of 'Blog Whore' off of Ray's head and planted it firmly on his own. If you follow the Lurker's Blog (and I'm sure you do, its not bad after all) you'll be aware that he is giving away some Posties Rejects Dice. Ray is also disposing of some of these rare and marvellous D6's on his blog Don't Throw A One. All well and good so far...but then came Sunday. 

Unbeknownst to I and the other members of our motley fraternity, Fran took a handful of Rejects Dice to SELWG to give away to various friends within the hobby. There was method to his madness of course because all those who received dice are also popular Bloggers and within 24 hours every one of them had written a glowing post about their newly acquired D6 along with a link to the Angry Lurkers Blog. I take my hat off to you Lurker, for such shameless self promotion! LoL. 

There is still time to get your hands on some of these much sought after dice - or at least to be in with a chance to win some. Both Ray and Fran will be drawing winners midday tomorrow (Wednesday 17th) so pop on over to their Blog's and throw your name in the hat.

Angry Lurker - Dice Givaway                       Don't Throw a One - Prize Givaway

Hex RPG coming together

As recently announced I have looking at writing and running a Hollow Earth Expedition role-playing game for The Delvers. We all seem to have lost heart in DandD 4e, especially as yet another edition is looming on the horizon. I'm still hoping we can complete our current campaign but in the meantime I thought I would give the Evil GM a breather and run something a little bit different. 

I'm rather enjoying getting back into story writing for an RPG game and my preparation is coming together quickly. There are several pre written starter adventures available online but I've never been one do things the easy way. I may well nick ideas from these scenarios but essentially I wanted our first adventure to be something original and potentially part of a much larger campaign arc. Obviously I can't discuss the details here (you never know, some of my friends might actually read my Blog!) but I want something that captures that cinematic and high adventure feel that you find in 'pulp' adventures like Dan Dare, Doc Savage, Flash Gordon and the like.

I have the framework for that first game laid out already, using the excellent (and Free!) flowchart program, Lucidchart. I am now working on some of the details but I'm deliberately trying to keep this part of the planning minimalist leaving descriptions and exposition brief. In short I'm putting faith in my improvisational skills...and its a scary but exhilarating prospect. I've bought some special dice for the game (yes I know I already have thousands of dice, but these are special) and I have even treated myself to the HEX GM's screen so I have all the essential rules to hand and won't need to rely on the rulebook too much during the game.

I'm not sure I can get everything finished in time for the DDD's next planned evening in a weeks time, but I'm confident I'll be ready to go before the following meeting. I'm rather looking forward to launching my players into an alternative 1936 where high adventure, secret cults and monsters abound and where magic and weird science merge in dramatic and unexpected ways.