Chinese Board Games
There are many Chinese board games. In this newsletter, I will share three of them that I had experience with. I grew up with three Chinese board games: Chinese chess, Go (wei qi), and Mahjong. They are still widely played in China today. Chinese chess was my first introduction to all other games when I was in elementary school. It is similar to Western chess, a strategy game between two players with commanders (king and queen), knights, and pawns in play. But the cultural difference between these two games is very interesting. For example, the commanders of Chinese chess are guarded in their palace and can never leave it. To read more about the comparison, click here.
Go is considered a more intelligent and scholarly game. Indeed, it is the most complex board game. Go became the last board game that resisted artificial intelligence. In 2016, Alpha-Go, a computer program developed by Google, finally defeated the world Go champion.
Mahjong was the last game I learned. It was less attractive to children and youths. However, adults love Mahjong for its social features and no-end game design. Four players can play for hours without knowing who will be the final winner or loser. To many players, it does not matter who wins or loses. What matters more is who you play with.
Read this brief introduction to all three games.
(Boni Jiang, editor)
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