Gaming Across Generations

Written by: Arlene Chen

Edited by: Katherine Lim

Designed by: Sandro Lorenzo

Growing up, I always looked forward to family game night. There was a certain exhilarating ambience in the air that I have never quite been able to put my finger on. Some nights, my sister and I would huddle around the kitchen table, listening to our parents explain the new card game we were about to attempt. Others, we’d sit cross-legged on the ground, furiously trying to destroy each other in whatever board game we could find, whether it be gomoku or Chinese checkers.

Each tabletop or card/board game I learned was deeply rooted in either culture or memory. For example, my parents explained that “斗地主 (doudizhu),” a classic card game literally translating to “fight the landlord,” claimed its name from a time in Chinese history when society was split into economic levels: landlord, upper, middle, and lower-class peasants. There was a general sense of resentment towards the landlords, who exploited the peasant class—hence, the birth of a game designed to knock the “landlord” off their pedestal. Other games such as “争上游 (zhengshangyou),” meaning “fight for the upper hand”, or “升级 (shengji), ” translated as “level up,” led to endless tales of my parents’ childhoods as they sat and watched their parents play so many games they’d forget to study, or participate in the intense family Chinese New Year’s battle for the moneypot.

After learning the story behind each game I was taught, I had ample opportunities to practice.

For one, I’d play with friends at local Asian parties, where my friends, too, had learned from their parents. We’d argue over specifics in the rules, as different regions differed slightly in their playing styles. Of course, I also continued playing games with my extra-competitive family at home, desperately trying to hone my skills and beat my parents (still working on this). When I visited China, I’d watch and learn as my parents joined family card games, using games as a tool to bridge a generational gap that, though not completely closed, felt narrower from a bond formed over hours of playing. Partaking in my culture through these traditional games felt almost like I’d been through a rite of passage; once I learned the tricks and clever maneuvers, I could carry on the legacy of each game I’d been taught.

My mother also describes tabletop games as a phenomenon crucial to Chinese social life. No matter what’s played, Chinese people love enjoying the experience most. Drinking tea, cracking sunflower seeds, and engaging in lively conversation are all vital aspects of these beloved tabletop games. While the games themselves are of course intriguing, more importantly, many problems and relationships find themselves solved over the length of a game. The very act of sitting down together is an important step, she explains, in strengthening bonds between people.

This love for tabletop games is not a uniquely Chinese experience—card and board games are a popular phenomenon in all Asian countries today. Though virtual games such as League of Legends, World of Warcraft, and Fortnite are extraordinarily popular and reach a broad spectrum of people, there is still a certain longing and thus large demand for the banter and social presence that comes with these tabletop endeavors. Taking off around 2010 in areas like Korea and Hong Kong, board game cafés spread across Asia, creating a new space for people to socialize face-to-face.¹ Though many of the games at these cafés tend to be modern, non-traditional games such as Monopoly, Jenga, or Sorry!, it’s clear the love for sitting down and creating meaningful connections through games has not completely diminished.

While many older Chinese tend to stick to what’s most familiar to them, such as mahjong, Chinese chess, and other more traditional card games, their younger counterparts play modern, ever-changing games in local and virtual cafés. Interests vary between generations, and so it’s no surprise that different generations are drawn to varying genres and formats.

There are, however, signs that this generational gap can be easily bridged. The digitalized era we live in has provided a perfect way for traditional tabletop games to continue past as well as with older generations. In China, many games are available online and can be played with friends just like other video games. On the QQ Games website, one of China’s largest gaming sites and one with a younger audience, the top three games on the “热门排行榜 (Hot Chart)” are all actually virtually adapted tabletop games; they are, respectively: “欢乐斗 地主,” “夺宝斗地主,” and “ 欢乐麻将全集.”² The top two games on the chart are both versions of “fight the landlord.” In third place is virtual mahjong, which has been popular in China since at least the late 1800s.3 Even in the face of newly created video games and ever-improving technology, it seems many still find great comfort in playing these more traditional tabletop games, whether it be virtual or face-to-face.

Especially in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, the virtual presence of these more traditional tabletop games has valuable potential in strengthening bonds. While I have enjoyed many intense card games with my parents over these past few months, there’s no denying the difficulty I and many others have still experienced in trying to maintain emotional connections with our friends and distant family. Though there is nothing quite like the face-to-face social experience of a Chinese tabletop game, my parents have begun weekly game nights through websites and concurrent Zoom calls with their friends. Even now that I’m away at college, when I’m bored or missing family bonding time, I’ll pull up a single-player card-game website and immerse myself in family memories through a digital platform.

The allure of these traditional tabletop games has stayed potent in recent years, and with that appeal comes a simple, entertaining way to keep cultural traditions alive. Though tabletop games are primarily seen as trivial, lighthearted activities, they have a powerful reach across multiple generations as well as the potential to cultivate long-lasting, worthwhile relationships.

¹ Patti Waldmeir, “Board Game Cafés Break Internet Monopoly,” Financial Times (The Financial Times Ltd, December 23, 2010), https://www.ft.com/ content/c61b9a42-0eb5-11e0-9ec3-00144feabdc0. ² “排行榜,” QQ游戏_QQ游戏大全_游戏下载_QQ游戏官网 (Tencent, 2020), https://qqgame.qq.com/. ³ Ashley Walters, “From China to U.S., the Game of Mahjong Shaped Modern America, Says Stanford Scholar,” Stanford News (Stanford University, July 15, 2013), https://news.stanford.edu/news/2013/july/humanities-mahjong-history-071513.html.