Dice and Card Games

So characters play games in this story a lot. It’s a character trait that comes up a lot, particularly with Saori and Raincloud. What games they play, when, and how is something that I put a fair amount of thought into.

Dice games are the most commonly referenced. The reason for this is pretty simple, and it’s one that will show up in actual life a lot. Dice games are easy to play. You don’t need much for it. You can play a game of liar’s dice with nothing more than a flat surface, a bag of dice, and some cups or screens. It’s simple, easy, and portable. You can pack up quickly and with little fuss. You can play anywhere that there’s a reasonably flat surface. Dice are durable, and if you lose one, you can use any other die of the same type to replace it.

So when characters are traveling, when they’re not sure how long they’re going to be playing for, or when they just want something simple, dice games are easy. Which games specifically show up will vary; I use liar’s dice most often, but characters will also be playing dice poker, craps, chō-han, crown and anchor, über 12 ist tot, shut the box, or cee-lo, as well as endless variations on these basic concepts. It depends on what the mood and desired experience is, the people playing, and the circumstance.

Card games are the other big class of gambling or competitive, low-equipment game that shows up. These are, in my experience, harder to play when traveling, in a rush, or in awkward circumstances. Mostly this is because you can play dice easily even if some of the dice are lost. With a card game you have to have the full deck (whether a standard 52-card deck or some other variant) available, and if a card is missing or an extra one is present the game is not valid. This also means you have to verify that all of the cards are present. So if you’re moving around a lot, you are prone to lose a card and then the game is going to be essentially void until you replace it. Dice games, if you lose a die you can just grab a spare, and it’s easy to check that you have all of those you need.

So while Saori certainly plays cards, most of the time these games happen to pass the time while doing other things and often while traveling. It’s also easier for Raincloud to play because she can look at dice any time whereas holding her cards up to check them is more challenging. She plays well in either format, but cards are more of a headache, especially when lacking the tools she uses to compensate. So, dice work better.

As to how both of them cheat so effectively, I have no idea. I’m not any good at cheating, hence why Kyoko also has no idea.