Roll The Bones

Last year I finally took the AST BBST Foundations course after I'd read so much about it.
I plan to write a post on it soon but basically it lived up to its billing and was a great learning experience.

Last night I finally got to take part in the Dice Game
If you've read blogs from other testers then it's likely you'll have heard about it - a quick Google brought me blog posts from Lynn McKee, Darren McMillan, Geordie Keitt, Eric Jacobson, Jesper Lindholt Ottosen, Brian Osman, Pekka Marjamäki...

So I think you get the idea - that playing The Dice Game is almost a rite of passage for a tester, the testing equivalent of a Masonic Handshake
"Have you played the Dice Game ?" gets a knowing nod in return and then the exchange of stories about the time there was THIS rule that took 3 hours to figure out...

I'd read about it but not actually done it but the moment finally arrived when Pete Walen made the January session of GR Testers a games night.

Introductions done, pizza eaten, let the games begin and out came the dice
I used the place mat to start taking notes of the dice rolled and the results
Kicked myself when I realised that the dice did not have to be rolled and shaken at every turn - one of the many lessons the game teaches you.


Then I got it.
I knew what the rule was - or was pretty sure I did
Re-arranged some of the dice to make sure
YUP
A big rush and a great sense of achievement and satisfaction

Pete then showed us the pen game and the coin game and even Johnny Whoop - all variations on a theme but one I was starting to recognize
How many times have I been in front of a program saying "why did it do that ?" and then trying to narrow down and reproduce exactly what the 'why' was.
Careful observation, looking outside the obvious, remembering other similar games - all coming together to an answer

The Dice Game ?
Yeh, I've played that