Dice dice. The transition from dice to playing cards occurred in China around the Tang dynasty, and coincides with the technological transition from rolls of manuscripts to block printed books. In Japan, dice were used to play a popular game called sugoroku. There are two types of sugoroku. "Ban-sugoroku" is similar to backgammon and dates to the Heian period, while "e-sugoroku" is a racing game. Dice are thrown onto a surface either from the hand or from a container designed for this (such as a dice cup). The face of the die that is uppermost when it comes to rest provides
Dice chess kings is to reduce the elements of chance in the game. Another form of dice chess is "Vegas Fun Chess", whose rules are described here. That site also indicates that "Pritchard's Encyclopedia of Chess Variants contains descriptions of seven versions of what he calls 'Dice Chess'." John Gollon, in his book "Chess Variations: Ancient, Regional, and Modern", notes three ways in which dice may be used in connection with a game of chess. The most common is similar to that described in the preceding sections. A second way to use dice is to have each player roll one die on