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
Craps introduce his novelty to the local underclass. Fieldhands taught their friends, and deckhands carried the new game up the Mississippi River. Celebrating the popular success of his novelty, de Marigny gave the name craps to a street in his New Orleans real estate development. The central game, called "pass", from the French word for "pace" or "step", has been gradually supplemented over the decades by many companion games which can be played simultaneously. The entire collection of over one hundred separate and independent possible games is called craps. The name "craps" was a Louisiana mispronunciation of the word "crabs", which