The Dice Are Cast
A series of articles about the game Audamir (until 31 October 2026 Auda Wars, and before that Dice Wars - Forever): about the original game from 2006, the history of dice, how games are made today, and everything that was measured, broken and fixed along the way.
Start with the introduction All articles- 6 articles
- 14.8 k words
- last updated 5 November 2026
- PART 06
How deep is dice poker? An exact calculation that comes before building
Five dice, two re-rolls and nine payout tables. An exact calculation shows how much better optimal play is than a simple rule, and that it depends on the table more than expected. The tool and the tables are given in full.
Balancing and measuringDesign - PART 05
Archaeology of the project itself: three and a half days from copies of a folder and the history of git
The git history begins only on 18 October at 12:24, but the game was made a day earlier. How the dates of files and four copies of a folder can reconstruct what happened, and what that says about working with an assistant.
Development diaryStory and background - PART 04
From the tavern to Knucklebones: why big games have dice of their own
Dice in The Witcher, Kingdom Come: Deliverance, Cult of the Lamb, Assassin's Creed and Baldur's Gate 3. A list of games where dice are thrown, what the developers said about it, and why a whole game can be made of dice alone.
Story and background - PART 03
From bones to Ludo: a long history of throwing dice
When was a die first thrown? Nobody knows exactly. A survey from graves in Iran through the Mahabharata and the Indian Ludo to the first rules of probability, and a table of chances from the game this series is about.
Story and background - PART 02
When the game was finished: how games were made in the 90s and what they compete for today
Five people, one floppy disk and no fix after release. The world of the original Dice Wars set against a world where a game barely stays in sight, with numbers, and what it means for a game that is not meant to be finished.
Story and background - PART 01
Twenty years and almost no update
After twenty years the original Dice Wars is still unique and still almost the same. When exactly it came out, what happened to it, what it lacks for today's player and where this series is going.
Story and background