Bo Bing (game) explained

Other Names:Po̍ah-(chiōng-gôan)-piáⁿPoa̍h-tiong-chhiu
Years:17th century - present
Genre:Dice game
Players:2+
Random Chance:High
Materials:Six dice, a bowl
S:博饼
P:bóbǐng
J:bok3 beng2
L:Gamble for Pastry
Poj:po̍ah-piáⁿ
T2:博狀元餅
S2:博状元饼
Poj2:Po̍ah-chiōng-gôan-piáⁿ
P2:bó zhuàngyuán bǐng
L2:Gamble for Champion Pastry
Altname3:Pua Tiong Chiu
Poj3:Poa̍h-tiong-chhiu
L3:Gamble for Mid-Autumn Festival
T3:跋中秋

Bo Bing (Mandarin (Hokkien, also known in Hokkien) is a Chinese dice game traditionally played as part of the celebration of the Mid-Autumn Festival. It is traditionally played with six dice and a china bowl.

The game dates back to the 1600s when it is said to have been invented by the Chinese general Koxinga of the Southern Ming, along with his lower officer Hong Xu. Zheng was stationed with his troops in Amoy planning the Siege of Fort Zeelandia to take Dutch Formosa, which had been occupied by the Dutch since 1624. The game was an attempt to boost the morale of Koxinga's homesick troops during the Mid-Autumn Festival.[1] The game became popular in Amoy (now Xiamen) and is considered a folk game.

The Hokkien Chinese name Po̍ah-piáⁿ translates as "gambling for cakes", and the game traditionally has 63 different sized mooncakes as prizes for the winning players: 32 of the smallest cake, half as many of the next largest, and so on ending with a single large Chiōng-gôan cake.[1] In modern times, the game's instructions are often printed on mooncake packaging, although the game is also played with prizes of daily necessities, household appliances or money.[1]

In the Philippines, the game is known as "Pua Tiong Chiu" (Hokkien) among the Chinese Filipino community,[2] where the prizes are often usually money and/or appliances for adults and sometimes toys and food for children or sometimes mooncakes known in Hokkien or Hokkien .

Rules

The game requires six dice and a wide mouthed bowl. The first player is assigned and rolls the dice and wins a specific prize depending on the dice combination. The dice are then passed to the next person, and the process is repeated until there are no prizes left.[3] A throw is declared invalid if at least one of the dice lands outside the bowl.[2]

PrizeCombination nameNumber of cakes availableDice resultsProbability
MandarinHokkienEnglish
1st Place
狀元 / 状元
zhuàngyuán
chiōng-gôan
紅六博 / 红六博 / 六紅 / 六红 hóngliùbó / liùhóng 六紅 / 六殕紅la̍k-hông / lio̍k-phú-âng Six Fours1Six 4-faces1/46,6560.0021%
要點六博 / 要点六博 / 六子yàodiǎnliùbó / liùzǐ 六博 / 六卜 / 六殕烏la̍k-pok / lio̍k-phú-o͘ Six OnesSix 1-faces1/46,6560.0021%
黑六博 / 六子hēiliùbó / liùzǐ 六博 / 六卜 / 六殕烏la̍k-pok / lio̍k-phú-o͘ Six of a KindSix of any number, except four or one4/46,656 0.0085%
五紅 / 五红 wǔhóng 五紅gō͘-hông / gǒ͘-hông Five FoursFive 4-faces30/46,656 0.0643%
五子wǔzǐ 五子gō͘-chí / gǒ͘-chí Five of a KindFive of any number, except four150/46,6560.3215%
四紅 / 四红 sìhóng 四紅sì-hông Four FoursFour 4-faces375/46,6560.8037%
2nd Place榜眼 / 探花 / 對堂 / 对堂 bǎngyǎn / tànhuā / duìtáng 對堂 / 榜眼 / 探花tùi-tn̂g / póng-gán / thàm-hoa Three of a Kind2Scenario 1:2 sets of three of the same number, except four.
200/46,6560.4287%
Scenario 2:2 sets of three of the same number, including four
300/46,6560.6430%
StraightAll numbers (1,2,3,4,5,6) in sequence720/46,6561.5432%
3rd Place / 4th Place進士 / 进士 / 四進 / 四进 jìnshì / sìjìn 四進 / 進士sù-chìn / sì-chìn / chìn-sū / chìn-sǐ Four of a Kind4Four of any number, except four1875/46,6564.0187%
4th Place / 3rd Place會元 / 会元 / 三紅 / 三红 huìyuán / sānhóng 三紅 / 會元sam-hông / saⁿ-âng / hōe-oân Three Fours8Scenario 1:Three 4-faces, any number for the three remaining dice except for other 1 set of three of the same any number.2400/46,6565.1440%
Scenario 2:Three 4-faces, any number for the three remaining dice2500/46,6565.3584%
5th Place舉人 / 举人 / 二舉 / 二举 jǔrén / èrjǔ 二舉 / 舉人lī-kú / dī-kú / lī-kí / dī-kí / kú-lîn / kú-jîn / kí-jîn / kí-lîn / kí-dîn Two Fours16Two 4-faces, any number for the four remaining dice.9300/46,65619.9331%
6th Place秀才 / 一秀xiùcái / yīxiù 一秀 / 秀才it-siù / siù-châi One Four32A 4-face, any number for the five remaining dice.17400/46,65637.2942%

If a player makes an ultimate throw, they receive all of the other mooncakes designated for 6th to 1st place, even those which were already awarded. This rule can be omitted to ensure all players receive a prize.[3]

Rituals

Some players believe in rituals when playing the game that they believe will give them good luck. Reported practices includes throwing the dice with one or two hands, or exclaiming "Chiong Wan!"[2]

Notes and References

  1. News: Mooncake gambling odds-on festival favourite. 29 January 2017. China Daily. 28 September 2008.
  2. News: See. Stanley Baldwin. Playing the Mooncake Festival's centuries-old dice game. 29 January 2017. GMA News. 17 September 2015.
  3. Web site: Chinese Moon Festival Dice Game. Westchester Association of Chinese Americans. 29 January 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20161020073804/http://wacany.org/wacany/wp-content/flyers/2010MoonFestivalFlyerDiceEng.pdf. 20 October 2016.