The point remains: the criticism by strategy-purists of games that involve some degree of chance is not wholly valid, not only because random tests can improve other aspects of the game, such as fidelity of simulation, but also because if chance is used sufficiently frequently, and with sufficient care, strategic elements will still dominate outcomes. Thus, strategy and not luck will remain the most important factor in play.
Quotes about luck
It is likely that the cherishing of one’s lucky dice is as old as dice themselves. There is a Gambler’s Lament in Babylonian, a kind of poem, that begins “Woe is me! Woe is me! My astragal! My astragal!”
Anyone can win a hand of Poker. Yet there is a lot of skill to the game. This betrays one of the popular myths in game design—that skill and luck are opposites. They are better considered as two axes.
You took that twenty-sider that couldn’t (no, wouldn’t) roll above a 4 and buried it in your backyard. It’s probably still there. Give it another few years to mull things over, then dig it up and give it a few rolls. See if it’s learned its lesson.
