tour 2 of 12
Games
Board Games
The two men in the picture are playing an ancient Chinese board
game called liubo. We do not know exactly how this game
was played.
Three of the main types of board games are:
race games like ludo, where the winner has to get
to the finish first;
war games like chess, where one side defeats the
other in order to win; and
counting games where the person with the most
pieces or money at the end wins.
Some games need great skill, but some just need luck, often in
the throw of a dice. As you look at the example board games see if
you can work out whether they are race, war or counting games, and
whether they need luck, skill or both. The answer is at the
end.
For parents
These model figures were made to be put into a tomb, and depict
their owner playing liubo in the afterlife. Liubo
was believed to be popular among immortals, as well as on earth.
The board is marked with divination symbols and the game pieces
represent the animals of the four directions.