Tavern Talk - Rituals

As you may (or more likely may not) know I am a contributor to the Trading Post... or I will be once  I add something to the site. And to make things worse I haven't managed to contribute to any of the "Tavern Talk" articles that have been posted there to date.

Lucky for me a new question just come up! 

Kuffy asks:

"As we all know gamers are creatures of habit.  This extends into the realms of our gaming, whether it be how we treat our dice to how we prepare for a game.  Some place their dice with the 'six' up to "inspire" good luck, while others will not roll the same dice twice in a row.  Some gamers have mascots for their armies - either a specific model or even a cuddly toy.  So the question posed is; what are your gaming rituals?"

Rituals are something I try to avoid in my day to day life. I already have OCD tendencies and I find myself getting stuck in "my ways" very easily when I encourage such things. Having said that... gaming has always been one area of my life where I have allowed myself some small obsessive pleasures, most of which relate to dice:

• Switching out my dice:  I like to have multiple dice available (the same type and design is best) to switch out as needed - typically when a particular dice is "misbehaving" and rolling too low or too high too often.
  
  
• Changing die facings:  This one is very closely related to my first ritual but usually comes before I switch to a different die. When placing my dice on the table I like to turn them so the 1 is not face up and the 6 is showing. Sometimes I will just turn it so the 1 is not facing up and call it a day.
   
• Replacing dice:  If I was honest with myself (and had the disposable income) I would probably buy a new set of D6s every few months or so. As it is now I tend to just rotate through the several sets of different colored dice I have (although I do really want a set of Game Science D6 dice).
   
• Using themed dice: I like the colors of my dice to reflect some attribute of the models I am using or the game setting. I don't like goofy symbols so it has to be the color of the dice or the pips that get this across.
  
  
• Only one color at a time:  The dice I am using have to be the same color unless I have no choice at all. When I played more tabletop RPGs I spent many hours getting together new sets of dice that all matched - D6, D8, D10, D12, D20.

That's probably enough... I don't want to get too carried away detailing my own descent into gaming OCD madness and I think you get the picture. How about you? Are there any particular gaming rituals you preform before/after or during the games you play?