Board Game Arena

How do you change the dice rolling algorithm from default (RNG) to smooth?

I can think of two ways:
1. Buy BGA from Asmodee and change the code.
2. Hack the BGA servers and change the code.

Ways that don't require as much capital or expended effort:

1. Become a volunteer dev, design and build the code for generating smooth distributions, and add it into the selectable options for Catan (and any other game where it makes sense - which is not all of them; Yahtzee and Can't Stop would become pointless with smooth distribution dice).
2. Play Catan with a physical set, using dice cards instead of dice.

Even if you did develop and implement this, you will get complaints/accusations that the code is biased/rigged/not following smooth distribution. So don't expect it to solve the perpetual "BGA dice are rigged" complaints.

(For removal of doubt: this is not a vote of support for such an option, I am happy with the BGA RNG, none of the "evidence" of biased/flawed RNG to date has held up to scrutiny.)

Paddles wrote: ↑24 May 2026, 04:56 Ways that don't require as much capital or expended effort:

1. Become a volunteer dev, design and build the code for generating smooth distributions, and add it into the selectable options for Catan (and any other game where it makes sense - which is not all of them; Yahtzee and Can't Stop would become pointless with smooth distribution dice).

My understanding is that deviations from a game's printed/official rules need to be approved by the publisher. So it's not just a matter of a dev coding up the option.

ErikLevin wrote: ↑24 May 2026, 07:34

Paddles wrote: ↑24 May 2026, 04:56 Ways that don't require as much capital or expended effort:

1. Become a volunteer dev, design and build the code for generating smooth distributions, and add it into the selectable options for Catan (and any other game where it makes sense - which is not all of them; Yahtzee and Can't Stop would become pointless with smooth distribution dice).

My understanding is that deviations from a game's printed/official rules need to be approved by the publisher. So it's not just a matter of a dev coding up the option.

True, but given that it already exists as an expansion to the game, it seems possible to get that approval.

Event cards are not a different dice rolling algorithm, they're a different mechanics.

I wonder why the first answer in this thread is not
"What is a smooth dice rolling algorithm?"

Because no matter what it is (or what the OP believes it is), my answer would have been the same

Ingoschi wrote: ↑24 May 2026, 12:31 I wonder why the first answer in this thread is not
"What is a smooth dice rolling algorithm?"

I was going to ask that, but I searched and found this: https://diceforcatan.com/ and assumed OP was talking about something like that.

Jontia wrote: ↑24 May 2026, 09:21 True, but given that it already exists as an expansion to the game, it seems possible to get that approval.

I looked at that link. They have a 36-card deck with instructions to reshuffle after 31 cards are dealt. That would be terrible for the game especially online where it's easier to track the cards. For example, suppose in the first few cards you see a 4 rolled twice. Now you know there's only one 4 left in the deck; that probably changes your strategy significantly. Catan would become a game where the winner would be whoever has the best memory or (if playing online) is the best bookkeeper.

I'm happy playing Catan as it's supposed to be played, with dice. But for anyone who really wants to replace the dice with cards in order to "smooth" the distribution of dice rolls, you should do it like this:

Take your deck of 36 cards representing the combinations of two standard, distinguishable dice. We will divide the cards into two sets (call them two "decks" if you prefer, although they won't be normal decks that are dealt out from top to bottom). Before play starts, randomly deal 8 cards face down to the "inactive" set. The remaining cards form the "active" set. Now when a player is supposed to roll the dice, the following happens:
(a) a card is chosen at random from the active set, and exposed, and acted on according to the game rules
(b) that card is placed into the inactive set, so now there are 9 cards in the inactive set, 27 cards in the active set
(c) a card is chosen at random from the inactive set, and placed into the active set, without being exposed
(d) the next time someone is supposed to roll the dice, go back to step (a)

Notice I haven't mentioned "shuffling". If you like you can visualize both sets of cards (active and inactive) being continuously shuffled.

I claim that the system I have described would "smooth" the distribution of rolls, without creating such a large advantage to someone who focuses on the drudgery of tracking the rolls. For example, in ordinary Catan, on the second roll of the game, the probability of rolling exactly the same combination as last time is 1/36 ≈ 0.028. In Catan: Event Cards, the probability is 0. That's a big difference. In the system I set out, the probability would be (1/9)*(1/28) ≈ 0.004. It's not hard to calculate the probability, of the combination just rolled being repeated within the next k rolls, for k = 1, 2, 3, ... You should calculate those probabilities for each of ordinary Catan (with two dice); Catan: Event Cards; and this system I described above.