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Dice throwing
As small as dice are, they serve many functions in Taiwanese people’s lives. One example is related to a well-known Taiwanese snack—grilling sausages. In the countryside, sausage vendors usually sell their product under a banyan tree or at a night market. The passersby will gather around the vendor to check out the good-smelling food and hear the sound made by the grilling sausages.
In order to help customers kill time while waiting for the sausages to be done, vendors usually prepare dice games for everyone to play. In the beginning, they may be unfamiliar with each other, but they soon begin to chat happily after playing the game. As everyone shouts louder and louder the atmosphere of the dice game becomes more and more exciting. It seems that the relationship between customers and vendors improves after playing dice games together!
When playing dice, vendors need to prepare a big pottery bowl so that the sound of the falling dice can be heard. The clear and melodious sound of dice falling is a must for the game. In fact, the reason why Taiwanese loves dice games so much is that the throwing-of-the-dice sound is music to their ears. It is similar to the sound wind chimes make when the wind blows.
To play the game, players will throw four dice in a bowl. As they throw the dice, they will shout in Taiwanese dialect “Shi Ba La,” which means the number “eighteen” in English to enhance their luck and help them throw the highest number (although according to the rules of the game, the highest number in the game is twelve rather than eighteen because only two dice are counted for in each throw). In general, when the customer wins, the vendor will give him or her a free sausage or a discount.
In addition to selling sausages, dice are present at many occasions in Taiwanese people’s lives. For instance, during the Chinese New Year holiday, children and adults usually play dice games for entertainment. Moreover, when people play Mahjong or Monopoly, they use dice to decide the numbers of tiles or steps they can take or move. Dice are not only a game to play but they are also equipment used to help the game go smoothly.