Tray or Cups?

How to roll dice.

Jay insisted on today's topic. The problem is if players cast dice on the open table, the dice land cockeyed or go off the table entirely. Is there a better way to roll dice?

Tray

In a way we've been there. We would just flip a Holmes set lid over. The dice popped out all the time, though.

Chaosium used to make a 2" deep box which was better at containing the dice. However, the players lean in to see the result and it feels like playing over a craps pit. The dice trays I see for sale online are 1.5" deep, which might be about right.

Trays aren't how the Bookhouse Boys roll, though.

Cups

Smonet Traditional Professional PU Leather Dice Cup

The idea of using cups suggested itself after playing a game of liar's dice. We used plastic cups initially, but they are noisy, so we upgraded to felt lined cups.

Cups are great for storing dice.

Cups aren't great for rolling lots of d6, since the dice tend to stack.

Another downside to cups is players who can't resist playing up the drama with excessive shaking. Jay's catchphrase in this situation is "hurry up and roll, dice bag."