Dice or a pair of dies, are the familiar numbered cubes that we all used to use to play Yahtzee as children, or any other games of chance in which the random tumbling of the dies determines the games outcome. Games of chance and gambling using dice or similar objects is common in many cultures around the world.
Dice games, by their very nature, tend to rely much more on luck than skill. As tattoo designs, dice are a metaphor for life. As players we can no more determine or predict the numbers that will turn up on a pair of dice than we can predict the future in a capricious universe. Sometimes in life, as in games of chance, it is more important to be lucky than to be talented.
Although sometimes referred to as a "lucky" symbol, or one of good fortune, dice are often featured in tattoo designs that highlight the perils of gambling, such as in "Man's Ruin". Dice are often featured with other vices, including playing cards, drugs and alcohol, guns, race horses and women of easy virtue.
See Also: Lucky Tattoo Index
