The process involved hollowing out the die through one of the pips, placing a small weight inside, filling the cavity with a soft wax with a melting point just above room temperature, filling the pip with glue or epoxy and then coloring it to match the other pips. Variable loading: This more complicated approach allowed the user to throw any side he desired rather than a predetermined one. The weighted, or heavy, side was more likely to fall against the table, thereby making the wanted side show.
Icing: To ice a die, one inserted a weight or iron filling inside it on the side opposite the desired face. Modifications inside a die increased the weight on a certain side, which boosted the user’s chances of the die turning up a desired number.Ĭheaters employed various methods to create these weighted, loaded or gaffed dice. This type was ideal for cheaters, who could get away with rigging them for an advantage during game play. Around the world, original dice were crafted out of bone (hence, the dice nickname “bones”), ivory and other materials, including bronze, agate, rock crystal, onyx, jet, alabaster, marble, amber and porcelain.Įventually, opaque plastic dice, through which light can’t pass, became the norm in the States.
