John

"I'll go first" said John, picking up the dice. He shook them in his hand for a moment before casting them across the kitchen table. They clattered to a halt in the middle of the board, causing the playing pieces to wobble slightly. He sighed as he looked at the dice, not off to a great start he'd rolled a 2 and a 1. He reached towards one of the pieces to move it but before he could grab it it began moving on it's own as the gem in the middle shifted, the letters dissappearing into a fog before reforming with a large number 3. His token slid along the first 3 squares before coming to a hault on a white square.

The number in the pink gem again disappeared into a coud of fog before text appeared replacing it "The die is cast, the game begun, a show of confidence from someone young. A family gathered to play our game, will it lead to pleasure or to pain? Was your move dumb or was it wise, read the card to learn your prize"

"This is spooky" Claire whispered "how does it know who is playing and how did John's piece move by itself"

"It must be more modern than it looks" Josh guessed "maybe it has some sort of webcam and AI? Or maybe it's a lucky guess, families tend to play boardgames and the youngest usually goes first, right?"

As he spoke he drew the top card from the deck and began to read it aloud...