GoKawiilThis new type of dice guarantees no tie when deciding who goes first
| CBC Radio | Posted: September 1, 2026 10:16 PM | Last Updated: September 1
A longstanding mathematical problem has finally been solved
Image | 20260811-eric-dice Caption: Mathematician Eric Harshbarger stands in front of giant versions of the dice he helped invent, displayed at Auburn University in Alabama. The dice are designed to eliminate ties when determining who goes first in a board game. (Submitted by Auburn University) Load image Open image in new tab (external link)
LISTEN | Full interview with mathematician Eric Harshbarger : Media Audio | As It Happens : Open full embed in new tab (external link) Loading external pages may require significantly more data usage than loading CBC Lite story pages.
During a dinner conversation at a gaming convention in 2012, Eric Harshbarger was asked by a board game designer if he could come up with dice that would determine who goes first — without the possibility of a tie.
The idea was simple: settle the first turn quickly and get on with the game.
“The goal [is] to save everyone a few precious seconds so they can get playing their board game as quickly as possible,” Harshbarger told As It Happens host Nil Köksal.
Harshbarger, a mathematician and senior lecturer at Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama, says the problem was right up his alley.
“It was a question that did not have an obvious answer and that's something that a mathematician will often jump at.”
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