Crazy Dice!

You should have played with these dice (or used the
simulation) and have found out that red is stronger than
blue, blue is stronger than green BUT green is stronger than
red! This doesn’t mean that red will ALWAYS beat blue in a
single game, but over a number of rolls it will generally do
better.

Now, it is time to analyse these dice and discover why

certain dice will win over others.

1. One Roll

RED Vs BLUE
RED and BLUE go head to head. RED should win but with what
probability?

a. Here is a possibility space for all the 36 possible

outcomes. In it you can note the winners for
each outcome. Copy and complete the table.

RED
4 4 4 4 4 9

2 R R R R R R

2 R R R R R R

2 R R R R R R
BLUE
7 B B B B B R

7 B B B B B R

7 B B B B B R

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 b. Use it to find the probability of RED winning against BLUE.

21 / 36 OR 7 / 12.
c. You can also use a probability tree to represent the rolls of the two dice. Complete
it and use it to find the probability that RED wins

5 1 1 7
( chance of rolling ) × ( 50 % win chance ) + ( CoR ) ×1 ( 100 % WC )= .
6 2 6 12

2 Red wins

4
3 7 Blue wins

6
3/6

2 Red wins
1
6
9
3/6
3
6
7 Red wins

3/6
The answers to b and c should be the same!

BLUE Vs GREEN
Use one of the above methods to show that the probability that
21
BLUE beats GREEN is
36
.

Blue wins
1 2 3
6
0 6
Blue wins
7
3/6 3/6

5 1 1 7
× + ×1= .
6 2 6 12
Green wins
5 26
3
6
5 Blue wins
7
3/6 3/6

GREEN Vs RED
Find the probability that GREEN beats RED. 25
36
3/6

© Richard Wade, www.teachmathematics.net

www.inthinking.co.uk
2
 2. Two Rolls
Imagine playing the same game, but this time you roll your chosen dice twice and add the scores
together to get your total. Your opponent does the same and the highest total score wins. If RED
beats BLUE with one roll then surely it is even more likely to beat it with two rolls?

a. Use the following possibility space to find the possible outcomes from two rolls
of the RED dice.
25
Probability (score 8) = 36

Probability (score 13) =

10
36
Probability (score 18) = 1
36
RED
4 4 4 4 4 9

4 8 8 8 8 8 13

4 8 8 8 8 8 13

4 8 8 8 8 8 13
RED
4 8 8 8 8 8 13

4 8 8 8 8 8 13

9 13 13 13 13 13 18

b. Find the possible outcomes from two rolls of the BLUE dice.

9
Probability (score 4) =
36

18
Probability (score 9) =
36

9
Probability (score 14) =
36

© Richard Wade, www.teachmathematics.net

www.inthinking.co.uk
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 BLUE
2 2 2 7 7 7

2 4 4 4 9 9 9

2 4 4 4 9 9 9

2 4 4 4 9 9 9
BLUE
7 9 9 9 14 14 14

7 9 9 9 14 14 14

7 9 9 9 14 14 14

c. Use a probability tree like this to find the probability of TWO RED rolls beating
TWO BLUE rolls.
9
44 36
18 25
9
36 144
9
3/6
14
25 8 36
36 59
10 44 5 14 4
3/6

36 9 24
13 14
3/6

1 Same as above
36 44
1
18 9 36
3/6
14

d. How does this result compare to ONE roll? Different (Odds are lower)
e. What is the probability of TWO BLUE rolls beating TWO GREEN rolls? Also 59/144
f. What about GREEN against RED? 671/1296
g. How do the results for TWO rolls compare to ONE roll? Odds are lower in general.

3. Extension
a. In a one roll contest can you create another dice that will beat red but lose to
green? Make this dice yellow.

© Richard Wade, www.teachmathematics.net

www.inthinking.co.uk
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 b. In a one roll contest can you create another dice that will beat red but lose to
yellow? Make this dice magenta.

© Richard Wade, www.teachmathematics.net

www.inthinking.co.uk
5