Bo Bing (game)

Mandarin Chinese: 博餅; pinyin: Bóbǐng (Hokkien Chinese: 博餅 / 跋餅; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Poa̍h-piáⁿ, also known in Hokkien Chinese: 跋狀元餅; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Po̍ah-chiōng-gôan-piáⁿ) 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.

Bo Bing

Six dice in a bowl: a roll of 1-2-3-4-5-6 is a Bangyan, and its prize is the second largest mooncake
Other names	Po̍ah-(chiōng-gôan)-piáⁿ Poa̍h-tiong-chhiu
Years active	17th century - present
Genres	Dice game
Players	2+
Chance	High
Materials required	Six dice, a 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 Chinese: 跋中秋; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Poa̍h-tiong-chhiu) 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 Chinese: 中秋餅; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: tiong-chhiu-piáⁿ or Hokkien Chinese: 月餅; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: ge̍h-piáⁿ.