A Few Chinese Tabletop Games to Learn and Master

Board games are interesting pieces of work. Some – like chess – are appreciated for the time and skill it takes to master them. Others, like Monopoly, are fun but are notorious for their ability to cause a feud or end a friendship here and there.

Games in China are a bit more extreme, requiring a whole lot of skill and patience. Heck, the game of Go is even the centerpiece of the Japanese novel Master of Go; the intrigue and scandal taking place throughout the story in step with a game between a master and a budding young player.

Here are four Chinese games to learn when you’ve got a little time on your hands – be it over the May Day holiday or lockdown, if it comes to that. They can easily be sourced on Taobao* or can be played via mobile app.

Go – 围棋 Wéiqí

Believed to have originated 2500 to 4000 years ago in China, weiqi, as it’s known in Chinese, is considered to be the oldest continuously played board game in existence. This two player game may seem simple on the surface, but it’s actually quite deceptive.

The rules go (no pun intended) like this: players take turns putting white or black pieces on a square board. Each player takes turns placing their pieces along the lines of the board, with the objective of gaining the most spaces, or “territory” on the board. To take things up a notch, players can take any pieces they surround in order to stifle their opponent’s strategy.

Chinese Chess – 象棋 Xiàngqí

Similar in many ways to Western chess, hence it’s uncharacteristic Western name, xiangqi – which more or less translates to Elephant Chess – features circular pieces featuring characters on each, like 兵 Bīng or 士 Shì (soldier), 炮 Pào (cannon), 将 Jiāng (general), and of course 象 Xiàng (elephant).

The pieces move across the board in ways that are similar to it’s Western counterpart. There are a few key differences though. For one, each piece is worth different points when caught, there’s a “river” flowing through the middle of the board that some pieces – like elephants – can’t cross, or, if they can, it grants them the ability to move in different directions – in the case of soldiers.

The objective of the game is to reach the opposing player’s general before they reach yours, thus putting them in a checkmate – while also capturing as many of their pieces as you can along the way, gaining more points for a high score.

Mahjong – aka 麻将 Májiàng

The clicking of these tiles, accompanied by the chatter of mostly elderly ladies enjoying a round or two or three of this game, are two common sounds that can be heard all across China. This is perhaps one of the most complicated games to play on the list. Someone tried explaining it to me once and, after 15 minutes of explanation, I still couldn’t get it.

Although it has regional variations, it’s a whole lot like a complex game of poker. There are 136 tiles in total, with 36 character tiles, 36 bamboo tiles, and 36 circle tiles. The dealer – aka East Wind – deals out tiles to players, with the objective being to get a “majiang”, in which a player gets all 14 of their tiles into one pair – two identical tiles – and four sets – either three identical suits, or three consecutive numbers in the same suit.

Sound complicated? It sure as hell is, but once you get the hang of it, it’s a fun way to learn new characters and a little more Chinese culture.

Pai Gow – aka 牌九 Páijiǔ

This final game is a lot like poker, but played with a 36 tile set of dominoes. The goal of the game, interestingly, is in the title: paijiu – row of nine. In order to win, all a player has to do is get a row of four dominoes that, when added together, equal nine or above.

Sounds simple right? Well here’s where it gets confusing. Some of the dominoes, especially those called Gee June (aka “wildcards”) can be paired up to equal different numbers, whereas some other titles, like Gong and Wong tiles, equal different amounts when paired with other numbered tiles.

For a little more in depth look at the rules, follow this link here.

Which of these games have you played before or are interested in trying out? Let us know in the comments!

*We've had issues here and there on packages coming into Beijing from other cities, so just to be safe it's best to look for Taobao shops in Beijing

READ: Go International: Games From Around the World That Can Be Played on a Go Board

Images: Mark Haupt, Elena Popova & zhang kaiyv (via Unsplash), andrewanwang (via Pixabay), bodog.com