10 Board Games That Lead To Real-Life Violence

1. Ancient Chinese Game Leads To War

In the Game of Thrones, you win or you die. In the ancient Chinese game of liubo (lee-oh boa) you win, or you throw a massive strop about it, chuck the wooden board you’re playing on at the head of the son of one of the most powerful princes in the country, who then never forgives you and leads a rebellion against you years later leading to the deaths of thousands of people. It’s not as catchy, sure, but it is at least true. Let’s unpack that. Liubo is a game created in China sometime in the first millennium BCE – it is a monster grandpa ancient game, so much so that the rules are lost to time. The man who would go on to become Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty was playing a game with Liu Xian (Lee-oo Hyen) the son of Liu Pi the Prince of the nation state of Wu. Turns out, sorry I dinged your son to death when I rage quit ancient snakes and ladders isn’t a mega convincing apology as the Wu Prince began consolidating wealth and power, which eventually erupted into something called the Rebellion of the Seven States, when Liu Pi united seven kingdoms of ancient china in an uprising against the new Emperor Jing, a mere 3 years after he ascended to the throne. The rebellion lasted for 3 months before eventually being quashed, leaving THOUSANDS of soldiers dead, all because of history’s most destructive table flip.