Petals Around the Rose is a mathematically challenging puzzle in which the object is to work out the formula by which a number is derived from the roll of a set of five or six dice. It is often used as an exercise in inductive reasoning. [1] The puzzle became popular in computer circles in the mid 1970s, [2] particularly through an anecdote recounted in Personal Computing which depicts Bill Gates working out the solution in an airport. [3]
The puzzle is commonly presented as a challenge in which one person (the presenter), familiar with the puzzle's set formula, rolls the dice and announces the calculated result for their roll, repeating ad nauseam. Players are challenged to work out the formula being used by the presenter and to verbally announce the calculated result of each roll along with the presenter. It is intended that they keep the formula to themselves. [2] [3]
The key to the formula is given by the name of the puzzle, and the presenter should state the name of the challenge distinctly. The calculated (announced) result for a throw is calculated by counting only the "petals around the rose", where a "rose" is any die face with a center dot. On a standard 6-sided die, this corresponds to the three odd faces—1, 3, and 5. The rose's "petals" are the dots which surround the center dot. There is no rose on the 2, 4, or 6 faces, so these count as zero. There are no petals on the 1 face, so it also counts as zero. There are two petals and four petals on the 3 and 5 faces, respectively. The solution to a given throw is the total number of petals.
For example, in a roll of 
, the only petals are on the 3 and 5 faces, for a total of six.
A way to express this as a formula is to add 2 times the number of dice that land on the 3 face to 4 times the number of dice that lands on the 5 face.
A die is a small, throwable object with marked sides that can rest in multiple positions. Dice are used for generating random values, commonly as part of tabletop games, including dice games, board games, role-playing games, and games of chance.
The Tower of Hanoi is a mathematical game or puzzle consisting of three rods and a number of disks of various diameters, which can slide onto any rod. The puzzle begins with the disks stacked on one rod in order of decreasing size, the smallest at the top, thus approximating a conical shape. The objective of the puzzle is to move the entire stack to one of the other rods, obeying the following rules:
Hazard is an early English game played with two dice; it was mentioned in Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales in the 14th century.
Shut the box is a game of dice for one or more players, commonly played in a group of two to four for stakes. Traditionally, a counting box is used with tiles numbered 1 to 9 where each can be covered with a hinged or sliding mechanism, though the game can be played with only a pair of dice, pen, and paper. Variations exist where the box has 10 or 12 tiles.
The Storytelling System is a role-playing game system created by White Wolf, Inc. for the Chronicles of Darkness, a game world with several tabletop role-playing games tied in. The Storytelling System is largely based on the Storyteller System, the rule set used for White Wolf's older game setting, the World of Darkness.
In mathematics, a pyramid number, or square pyramidal number, is a natural number that counts the stacked spheres in a pyramid with a square base. The study of these numbers goes back to Archimedes and Fibonacci. They are part of a broader topic of figurate numbers representing the numbers of points forming regular patterns within different shapes.
Liar's dice is a class of dice games for two or more players requiring the ability to deceive and to detect an opponent's deception. In "single hand" liar's dice games, each player has a set of dice, all players roll once, and the bids relate to the dice each player can see plus all the concealed dice. In "common hand" games, there is one set of dice which is passed from player to player. The bids relate to the dice as they are in front of the bidder after selected dice have been re-rolled. Originating during the 15th century, the game subsequently spread to Latin American and European countries. In 1993, a variant, Call My Bluff, won the Spiel des Jahres.
Fuzion is a generic role-playing game system created by the collaboration of R. Talsorian Games and Hero Games. The rights to Fuzion are jointly held by Mike Pondsmith of R. Talsorian Games, along with Steve Peterson and Ray Greer of Hero Games. Fuzion is a combination of the Interlock System,, and the HERO system. Fuzion is an adaptable system which can be played in any genre and setting imaginable.
A set of dice is intransitive if it contains X>2 dice, X1, X2, and X3... with the property that X1 rolls higher than X2 more than half the time, and X2 rolls higher than X3 etc... more than half the time, but where it is not true that X1 rolls higher than Xn more than half the time. In other words, a set of dice is intransitive if the binary relation – X rolls a higher number than Y more than half the time – on its elements is not transitive. More simply, X1 normally beats X2, X2 normally beats X3, but X1 does not normally beat Xn.
Dice notation is a system to represent different combinations of dice in wargames and tabletop role-playing games using simple algebra-like notation such as d8+2.
Double counting is a fallacy in reasoning.
Scribbage is a classic dice word game published in 1959 by the E.S. Lowe Company. 13 dice are rolled which have various letters on each side. Each letter is given a point value depending on its frequency in the English language. A timer is flipped and the player has to put the dice into words either left-to-right or up-and-down. The words must connect with each other as in crossword puzzles or Scrabble. The player must stop at the end of the time and points are counted. The player adds up the points of the letters used and subtracts the amount from the unused letters. Scribbage can be played with two or more players.
Miwin's Dice are a set of nontransitive dice invented in 1975 by the physicist Michael Winkelmann. They consist of three different dice with faces bearing numbers from one to nine; opposite faces sum to nine, ten or eleven. The numbers on each die give the sum of 30 and have an arithmetic mean of five.
A game is a structured type of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work or art.
Horsengoggle is a method of selecting a random person from a group. Unlike some other methods, such as rock paper scissors, one of the features of horsengoggle is that there is always a winner; it is impossible to tie.
The Mutschel is a traditional star-shaped bread from Reutlingen, Germany. The pastry, and the corresponding Mutscheltag, have probably existed since the 13th century. Mutscheln are roughly star-shaped and come in various sizes: usually approximately six inches in diameter, but bakeries often offer breads three or more feet in diameter. The most common Mutschel is made of wheat, yeast, a small amount of fat like lard or butter and eggs. They are sometimes made in sweet varieties.
Midnight is a dice game played with six dice.
Don't Look Back: Terror is Never Far Behind (DLB) is a supernatural and paranormal horror-themed role-playing game set in modern times that was initially published in 1994 by Mind Ventures. The player characters investigate supernatural and paranormal events for a secret government agency. A more light-hearted second edition was published in 1995. The game received positive reviews in game periodicals including Dragon and Arcane.
Cacho Alalay is a popular dice game from Latin America. It is similar to Yahtzee/Yatzy. The purpose of the game is to roll five dice and score points from their combinations. The dice are rolled from a leather cup.
The following is a glossary of terms used in tables games, essentially games played on a Backgammon-type board. Terms in this glossary should not be game-specific, but applicable to a range of tables games.
| Traditional games |
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|---|---|---|
| Gambling games | ||
| Commercial games | ||
| Word games | ||
