If you thought we were hard done by because our hobby of board war gaming was barely tolerated by our friends and our family, and was viewed as some sort of aberration by the general public, here’s something to think about.

In medieval times, it seems that almost anything that was fun was considered to be either illegal or immoral, so if the state didn’t get you, the church would.

One of the harmless pastimes that is now an integral part of board wargaming was, back then, a heinous enough crime to warrant capital punishment. So what, exactly, constituted such a horrible act, worthy of execution? Would you believe, playing with dice?

Dice were probably used, first and foremost, for gambling. Strike one. Dice were also used by the Roman soldiers to cast lots and see who would get to keep Jesus’ vesture after the crucifixion. Strike two. And last but by no means least, dice had six sides, were numbered one to six, and weighed six drachms ... 666 ... the number of the Beast. Strike three.

So the next time you play Rommel in the Desert and groan at having to roll handfuls of dice, just think, 500 years ago you were not only risking carpal tunnel syndrome, but also your neck.