Russian roulette


Russian roulette is a highly lethal game of chance in which a player places a single round in a revolver, spins the cylinder, places the muzzle against their head, and pulls the trigger in hopes that the loaded chamber doesn't align with the primer percussion mechanism and the barrel, causing the weapon to discharge. Russian refers to the supposed country of origin, and roulette to the element of risk-taking and the spinning of the revolver's cylinder, which is reminiscent of a spinning roulette wheel.
The deadly game is commonly associated with six-shot revolvers. If such is the case, mathematically, the average number of consecutive pulls of the trigger before the gun discharges is 3.5. After a single spin, the probability of it firing is 1/6, followed by 1/5 on the second pull, 1/4 on the 3rd pull and so on, until if it failed to fire 5 times, the probability is 1/1 on the final pull. If the cylinder is re-spun after each trigger pull, the probability of firing remains 1 in 6 on each occasion, and the probability of it having fired after 6 pulls is, or about 66.5%.

Origin

According to Andrew Clarke, the first trace of Russian roulette can be found in the story "The Fatalist" of 1840, part of the collection A Hero of Our Time by Mikhail Lermontov, a Russian poet and writer. In the story the protagonist of the novel, Grigory Alexandrovich Pechorin, says there is no predestination and proposes a bet emptying about twenty gold pieces onto the table. A lieutenant of the dragons of the tsar of Serbian origin, Vulič, with passion for gambling, accepts the challenge and randomly takes one of the various-caliber pistols from its nail, cocks it and pours powder on the shelf. Nobody knows if the pistol is loaded or not. Vulič asks: "Gentlemen! Who will pay 20 gold pieces for me?", putting the muzzle of the pistol to his forehead. Then he asks Gregory to throw a card in the air and when this card touches the ground, he shoots. Fortunately, nothing happens, because the blow fails, but when Vulič cocks the pistol again, and aims it at the service cap hanging over the window, a shot rings out and smoke fills the room.
The game spread among Russian garrison officials, becoming a foolish courage challenge. It became a way to alleviate the boredom of the long hours in distant garrisons; it also became an undertaking that, in the eyes of its players, superseded the duel.

Etymology

The term Russian roulette was possibly first used in a 1937 short story of the same name by Georges Surdez:

Notable incidents

Fiction

There is a drinking game based on Russian roulette. The game involves six shot glasses filled by a non-player. Five are filled with water, the sixth with vodka. Among some groups, low quality vodka is preferred as it makes the glass representing the filled chamber less desirable. The glasses are arranged in a circle, and players take turns choosing a glass to take a shot from at random.
There is also a game called "Beer Hunter". In this game, six cans of beer are placed between the participants. One can is vigorously shaken, and the cans are scrambled. The participants take turns opening the cans of beer right under their noses; the person who opens the shaken can is deemed the loser.