Game Jargon Definition: “Dice Punishment”

Dice Punishment (noun) - dice pun·ish·ment. /ˈdīs ˈpəniSHm(ə)nt/

An act of revenge, retribution, or perhaps even “justice” on the part of the owner of the dice. Dice punishment is a type of theatrical ritual that some gamers—especially role-playing gamers—may enact when one or more of their dice “misbehaves” and either rolls low in one critical moment that lets down the player’s character, or repeatedly rolls low causing the player and their character to suffer defeat after defeat in critical and/or humiliating ways. Players have become quite creative with various forms of dice punishment, such as microwaving a die that misbehaves after setting up the other dice outside of the microwave to “watch" in order to deter the onlookers from engaging in their own low-rolling behavior. Other forms of dice punishment may be setting dice on fire, waterboarding them, or smashing them with a hammer.