GoKawiilAuburn mathematician creates 'Go First Dice' that eliminate ties for five players
Eric Harshbarger, a mathematician at Auburn University, has finally solved a puzzle he began working on in 2012: designing a set of dice that lets five players roll simultaneously to decide turn order, with every player having an equal chance of winning and no possibility of a tie. The finished product, called the Go First Dice, took nearly 15 years to move from theoretical concept to a working physical set.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
Board games routinely rely on awkward tie-breaking methods like re-rolling or rock-paper-scissors, so a mathematically guaranteed tie-free system is a small but genuinely useful innovation for tabletop gaming. It also shows how a seemingly trivial gaming question can become a serious combinatorics problem worth over a decade of academic effort.
- The Go First Dice guarantee a unique winner among five players with no ties possible.
- The concept originated from a 2012 gaming convention conversation and took nearly 15 years to solve practically.
- Eric Harshbarger, a senior lecturer at Auburn University, led the mathematical work behind the design.
Go First Dice 4-Player Set — These are the very dice the article is about: a matched set engineered so every roll produces a unique ranking, meaning no ties and no re-rolls when deciding turn order. Toss them once at the start of game night and jump straight into playing.
See Go First Dice 4-Player Set on Amazon → Affiliate link — we may earn a commission on purchases, at no extra cost to you. Product picked by AI based on this article; it is not a tested recommendation.Source: cbc.ca — Catherine Zhu, 2026-09-02
Published there as: “New type of dice guarantees no tie when deciding who goes first”
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