Quantum Dice: Design Deep Dive

The premise

What if dice could roll anything?

Take a six-sided die and add a seventh face - the quantum face. When it comes up, the result pulls from a pool of glyphs you've collected: playing cards, Roman numerals, runes, photons. A simple dice game becomes a roguelike deck-builder with genuine depth around probability and expected value.

Design Philosophy: Familiar Foundation, Strange Expansion

The Seven-Sided Die

The game begins with an impossible object: a seven-sided die. Six faces show the familiar pip patterns (1-6), while the seventh displays the quantum glyph. This immediately signals to players that the normal rules of probability are about to be bent.

The Roguelike Loop

Each run follows a simple structure: roll dice to reach a target score within a limited number of rolls. Hit the target, and you advance to the next level with an opportunity to add new glyphs to your quantum pool. Fail, and the run ends.

This structure creates natural tension between several design goals:

• Short-term optimization: Maximizing score with current rolls
• Long-term pool building: Choosing glyphs that synergize across runs
• Risk assessment: Deciding when to rely on the quantum face's potential

Glyph Systems: Intersecting Probability Spaces

The Glyph Schema

Every glyph in Quantum Dice follows a consistent data structure that enables flexible mechanics while maintaining predictability:

glyph = {
    type: "dice" | "quantum" | "roman" | "cards" | ...,
    value: number,
    sprite: number,
    effect?: function  // optional modifier
}

This schema allows for multiple value systems to coexist on the same probability distribution. When the quantum face is rolled, the game samples from the player's accumulated quantum glyph pool, which can contain glyphs from entirely different number systems.

Glyph Categories by Design Intent

Superposition: Probability Within Probability

The Collapsing Glyph

Superposition glyphs exist in multiple states simultaneously until observed (rolled). When a superposition glyph comes up, the game animates through potential outcomes before "collapsing" to a single result. This isn't just visual flourish - it's a direct representation of wavefunction collapse.

Educational Design Intent

Players naturally begin calculating: "Should I add this superposition glyph, or a specific high-value card?" This creates organic engagement with compound probability concepts:

• Conditional probability (what are my chances given I hit the quantum face?)
• Expected value across nested distributions
• Variance as a strategic consideration
• The trade-off between predictability and potential

The Boon System: Emergent Synergies

Unlockable Permanent Bonuses

Boons reward players for collecting specific glyph combinations across a run. Unlike loot selection (which is immediate), boon unlocks require rolling specific glyphs during gameplay.

Design Tension

The boon system creates a fascinating strategic tension:

• Adding runes dilutes your pool: Runes only score 1 point, so adding them to enable boons lowers your immediate expected value
• Both runes must be rollable: Having both in your quantum pool doesn't guarantee you'll roll both in a single run
• Boons persist across rounds: Once unlocked, the bonus applies for the rest of the run, potentially justifying the early investment
• Compound effects: Sun's Radiance makes the standard dice faces more competitive with exotic glyphs

Progression & Scaling

Round Structure

The game uses a carefully tuned difficulty curve:

Notice that early rounds require below-average dice rolls to complete (expected value of a d6 is 3.5). This ensures new players can progress while learning the systems. Later rounds require players to have built pools with higher expected values - the quantum expansion becomes necessary, not optional.

Loot Selection as Pool Building

After each successful round, players choose one of three random glyphs to add to their quantum pool. This creates the core roguelike tension:

• Pool size matters: More glyphs = more diluted probability for any specific one
• Synergy hunting: Taking that second rune now might enable a boon later
• Variance management: High-value glyphs increase ceiling but also variance

Implementation Notes

Platform Evolution

Quantum Dice was originally developed for PICO-8, a fantasy console with severe constraints (128x128 pixels, 16 colors, Lua scripting). The web version preserves the core mechanics while expanding the visual and audio presentation.

The Repeat Bonus System

An interesting mechanic from the original: rolling the same value twice in a run doubles the score for that roll. This creates situations where "lucky streaks" feel meaningful and adds another layer of probability for players to track mentally.

function check_for_repeat()
  local hit_counter = 0
  for v in all(roll_history) do
    if (v.value == outcome_value) then
      hit_counter += 1
    end
  end
  return {hit = hit_counter > 0, amount = hit_counter}
end

Educational Design Insights

Teaching Through Play

Quantum Dice succeeds as educational design because it never lectures. Players naturally develop intuition about:

• Expected value: "Is adding this glyph actually helping my average?"
• Probability distribution: "What are my realistic outcomes from this pool?"
• Variance: "Can I afford high-variance plays right now, or do I need consistency?"
• Compound probability: "If I hit quantum, then what are my odds of getting a good result?"
• Quantum concepts: Superposition (multiple states until observed) and entanglement (correlated outcomes)

The "Aha" Moments

The best educational games create moments of genuine discovery. In Quantum Dice, these include:

• Realizing that adding too many glyphs dilutes your pool
• Discovering boon synergies through experimentation
• Understanding why the M (1000) Roman numeral isn't always the best choice
• Recognizing that superposition glyphs compound uncertainty

Future Design Directions