Liubo - 六博
A downloadable game for Windows
We are Liubo Lab!
Liubo is an ancient Chinese board game originally played from about 500 BCE to 500 CE. The rules of the game have been lost to time, but our team is attempting to reconstruct the game based on what we do know.
Liubo is a game about birds catching fish. Each player controls 6 pieces representing birds. These birds fly around the board in order to reach the center square, which represents a pond full of fish. Birds catch fish and turn into owls by crossing over or landing on this pond, and then score points by dropping the fish in the circle “Nest” spaces on the opponent’s side of the board. However, you can also score points by capturing your opponent’s birds/owls before they reach the nests! Liubo takes between 10 to 45 minutes to play; the first player to 6 points wins!
Please check out our project website for more details!
https://projects.etc.cmu.edu/liubo-lab/
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I can't seem to rate the game or write a review, so I'll post what I said here:
I've been curious about Liubo for about 20 years. I have no idea if this version is like what was actually played 2000 years ago, but it's a beautiful and playable game with a sweet theme. I downloaded the video version, but I also printed up a board from wikipedia and used some Mah Jongg pieces to play it on my table. The rules give more options each turn than the similar ancient games Yut and Pachisi, so it's more fun to play. I love the theme of birds in a garden in a forest, catching fish in a pond.
I hope the developers will consider making a print-and-play version of the board, at least, since it's so beautiful.
I would love to find out more about how much of this reflects the 2019 find of the written rules on bamboo slips found in a tomb. I tried the contact link on their webside, but it doesn't seem to be working.
So exciting!