Real life Jumanji? Mysterious ancient Chinese board game unearthed in Warring States era tomb

[yuiyoshida]

Along with the compass, gunpowder, papermaking and printing, we may also have to credit ancient Chinese civilization with the invention of the precursor to Dungeons & Dragons.

Inside a 2,300 year old tomb excavated near Qingzhou city in Shandong province, archaeologists discovered the pieces to a board game that hasn't been played for at least 1,500 years.

The items discovered included one 14-sided dice made of animal tooth. Twelve of its faces are numbered 1 through 6 in ancient "seal script," while the other two faces were left blank.

They also unearthed 21 rectangular game pieces with numbers painted on them, as well as a broken tile that was once part of the game board. Researchers believe that each of these tiles was decorated with two eyes surrounded by a pattern of clouds and thunderstorms, according to an article in the journal Chinese Cultural Relics.

http://shanghaiist.com/2015/11/18/ancient_board_game_unearthed.php

[Shandris]

1. A d14. Now that's just downright fascinating. D&D uses 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, and 20...

...but I've never seen 14 until now. Polyhedral dice, all that time ago? And that naturally means even more early geometry. Absolutely jawdropping!