Multiple Dice Rolls Help

So basically, I have to write a function that simulates the rolling of a
given number of six sided dice a given number of times. The function should
take
two input arguments, the number of dice (NumDice) that will be rolled in each
experiment and the total number (NumRolls) of times that the dice will be
rolled. The output of the function will be a vector SumDice of length NumRolls
that contains the sum of the dice values in each experiment. I'll have to make
a histogram afterwards (which I havent done yet)
Here's what I've got so far, not sure how to make it a sum of dice:
% function SumDice=RollDice(NumDice,NumRolls)
distribution=zeros(6,1);
for roll=1:NumRolls
diceValues = randi(6,[NumDice 1]);
for die = 1 : NumDice
distribution(diceValues(die)) = distribution(diceValues(die)) +1;
end
end

 Accepted Answer

Walter Roberson
Walter Roberson on 21 Nov 2012

0 votes

Sum of dice is just sum(diceValues). And you will not need the "for die" loop as you only get a single sum.
(By the way, the entire function can be done as a single expression, including the histogram.)

4 Comments

SB
SB on 21 Nov 2012
That sounds really interesting, how would you do that?
randi() can generate all the trials at once. You can then vectorize the summation. Then calculate the histogram on those sums.
SB
SB on 21 Nov 2012
Could you maybe show an example? Vectorizing the summation as in within a vector using recursion or something?
sum() can be applied to arrays, not just to vectors.

Sign in to comment.

More Answers (1)

Harshit
Harshit on 21 Nov 2012
Here is what I feel will work fine
% function SumDice=RollDice(NumDice,NumRolls)
distribution=zeros(NumDice*6,1);
for roll=1:NumRolls
diceValues = randi(6,[NumDice 1]);
totaldiceValue = sum(diceValues);
distribution(totaldiceValue) = distribution(totaldiceValue) +1;
end
end

Asked:

SB
on 21 Nov 2012

Commented:

on 15 Nov 2017

Community Treasure Hunt

Find the treasures in MATLAB Central and discover how the community can help you!

Start Hunting!