Mooncake game

Has anyone heard of this game before - Mooncake Game? I am not even sure what is the official name of the game in Chinese, there seems to be various versions on the Internet from "Bo Bing" to "Pua Tiong Chiu". Actually I have no idea what the two names mean, so for all I know it could mean the same. I will stick to calling it the Mooncake Game.

For the first time, we played this game with the family during the Mid Autumn Festival, thanks to 3-gor who had organized it. Curious, I did some research on the Internet about it (though I am not sure how reliable the information I got is). Actually, just like the name, I found various versions of the rules of the game. 

But in a nutshell, the game originated from Xiamen and was started by scholars craving success in imperial exams. The game requires six dice and a a china bowl. Throw the dice into the bowl and the different dice combinations stand for different ranks of awards  you will win (all named after imperial titles earned from the exam). This was where I found different versions on the Internet and I am sure it was also different from the rules which we followed while playing with the family, but to give you an idea, the below are the prizes and dice combinations which I got from this link. 

One prize for #1 Scholar (Zhuangyuan) The seven prize levels:

Highest 1. Zhuangyuan with Gold Flower

             2. Hongliubo (6 fours)

             3. Yaodianliubo (6 ones)

             4. Heiliubo (6 of the same, except fours)

             5. Wuhong (5 fours) 

             6. Wuzi (5 of the same, except fours)

Lowest 7. Sihong (4 fours)

Two prizes for No. 2 Scholar (Duitang) A straight.

Four prizes for No. 3 Scholar (Sanhong) Throw 3 fours

Eight prizes for No. 4 Scholar (Sijin) Throw 4 of the same, except fours

Sixteen prizes for No. 5 Scholar (Erju) Throw 2 fours

Thirty two prizes for No. 6 Scholar (Yixiu) Throw 1 four

For each of the winning dice combinations, 3-gor had prepared various prizes - moon cakes, chocolates and fruits! It was such a simple game, but it threw the family into fits of laughter. The best part of the game was that everyone in the family could participate - no one was too old or too young for the game (ok, except Amanda) - with Uncle Choo being the oldest and Wayne the youngest! In fact, Wayne was probably the most enthusiastic player! He was competitive. Each time he won a prize, it got him ecstatic. Haha. 

Some photos from the night:

All we need for the game : dice, bowl, prizes and the rules of the game!

3-gor 'teaching' everyone how the game is played

First to try his luck in the game!

Winning combination - by Wayne!

"Yay, I won a mooncake!" and who is that photo bombing behind!

And another round!

And more prizes! Biggest winner!!

Daddy's turn

Prize presentation ceremony

Zhangyuan - the top prize goes to 2 gor!

And that was how the night ended, lots of goodies on the table! Everyone went home with their many prizes!

Thanks to 3-gor for all the efforts in organizing this fun game!