The Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history is perhaps best remembered as a bloody interlude of intrigue and fighting waged among some of Chinas savagest warlords. Thats why Ive always marveled that my first "experience" of the era came while sitting among friends in a cabin in east Tennessee. It was there that I was first introduced to the game Sanguosha (三国杀), otherwise known as “Killers of the Three Kingdoms.”

Inspired by Bang!, a popular Italian counterpart set in the Wild West, the Chinese card game initially was launched as a somewhat shabby homemade product sold on Taobao in 2006.

Yet Sanguosha obviously touched a nerve, and after a little more development it was re-launched in 2008, quickly going viral among college students and young white-collar workers in Shanghai and Beijing.

Combining the bloody events of the Three Kingdoms period (220-280 A.D.) with fictional elements from the literary classic “Romance of the Three Kingdoms,” the game seduced legions of bespectacled Chinese youth, who could be seen throwing down cards on restaurant tables across the country, accompanied by shouts of “Sha!” (杀, attack) and “Shan!” (闪, dodge).

The trend inspired a spate of new board game clubs, as well as a new life mantra among its fans: “If Im not playing Sanguosha, I must be on the way to play it.” (我不是在玩三国杀，就是在去玩三国杀的路上。W6 b% sh# z3i w1n S`ngu5sh`, ji& sh# z3i q& w1n S`ngu4sh` de l&sh3ng;).

The game features 40 characters, each with special skills that conform to his or her role in the classic novel. For instance, as founder of the Wei Kingdom (魏国), Cao Cao(曹操) is ruthless, intelligent and a master of subterfuge, renowned for being able to bounce back from the brink of disaster and force enemy generals to surrender their service to him.

As such, one of Cao Caos skills in the game is the ability to absorb and assume control of a variety of his opponentstool cards.

In addition to the character cards they hold, each player has a secret identity (ruler, loyalist, rebel or defector), which the other players must attempt to guess based on their moves and strategy.

The intricacies behind Sanguosha have helped its popularity extend across the Pacific Ocean, not only to the wilds of Tennessee where I first encountered the game, but also to cities like Los Angeles, where a recent four-day tournament attracted hundreds of Chinese students.

Moreover, three ardent fans will this summer launch a course based on the game at the University of California, Berkeley. Besides learning the related history and reading the classic novel, students must actually play the game in order to pass the course. “Students will use knowledge from the book and historical events to examine the character card abilities of significant figures, such as Liu Bei (刘备), in relation to their historical roles,” reads the course syllabus.

With 129 cards in the basic version, Sanguosha incorporates people, idioms and historical events. It may take some explanation and several practice rounds to work out whats going on, but half the fun comes from learning from different people and swapping stories of intrigue and betrayal related to the Three Kingdoms period.

For an English walk-through of the game, please refer to sanguoshaenglish.blogspot.hk. - LIU JUE (刘珏)