Dice have been a central part of gaming for thousands of years. A new book featuring essays from big-name geeks like Wil Wheaton and The Escapist‘s EiC Russ Pitts examines the peculiar relationship we have with our dice.
I hadn’t used my dice in years. Wasn’t sure I still had them, even.
I used to carry them in a small, brown leather bag. It was rough, like coarse suede, and drew closed with simple strings. My father bought it for me one summer at a gift shop in Albuquerque.
Thus begins “The Dice They Carried”, an article by The Escapist‘s Editor-in-Chief Russ Pitts in Issue 173 of our weekly magazine. The story of Russ and his trusty dice is just one of many such tales contained in The Bones, a collection of articles, essays, interviews and even some comics about our occasionally-strange relationship with these inanimate, numbered objects.
Dice, after all, have been central to our hobby – and hobbies like it – since the earliest games, as James Maliszewski illustrated several months ago. Is it any wonder that we have a connection with pieces of plastic?
The Bones (which is also available in a special hardcover version), contains contributions from plenty of well-known nerd figures like Wil Wheaton, DorkTower’s John Kovalic, and game designer and writer – and The Escapist contributor Matt Forbeck.
If you’re interested in reading on about what this collection of distinguished nerds thinks about the little dice we carry, you can order the book via gameplaywright for about $18.