Culture Insider: Ancient Chinese table games

A 14-sided dice made of animal bone found in the 2300-year-old tomb in Shandong. [File Photo]

These game pieces seem to belong to a table game named "Liubo" in ancient China. A complete set of equipment for Liubo includes a chessboard, chess pieces and throwing sticks. In the Han Dynasty (206BC-220AD), throwing sticks were replaced by dice. The chessboard is carved with routes for chess pieces to move, and the middle part of the board is called "water" with "fish" in it. Each of the two players has six chess pieces and by throwing sticks, the game pieces are moved. The detailed rules for this game have been lost. Liubo dates back to the Shang Dynasty (BC1600–1046) and lost its popularity in the Han dynasty, being replaced by the game of Go.