From ancient boards to AI robots: Asian Civilisations Museum’s ‘playable’ exhibit
Fancy playing chess with a robot? You can do so at the Asian Civilisations Museum’s Let’s Play! exhibit.
From Sep 5, visitors can explore more than 150 artefacts tracing the origins of Asian games and try life-size versions.
Some games carried moral lessons: India’s gyan chaupar was the original Snakes And Ladders, where ladders stood for virtues and snakes for vices.
Chess also began in India as a war game with four army divisions that became the pawn, knight, bishop and rook. It later reached Persia where “check” and “checkmate” originated.
This is a miniature xiangqi (Chinese chess) jade set from the Qing dynasty. Once a way to cultivate the scholarly virtues of patience and foresight, it’s now recognised as a “mind sport.”
Tozan Shogifu, a woodblock-printed manual from 1796, introduced xiangqi to Japan, which would later evolve into shogi, the Japanese version.
Encounter a 120-year-old congkak board from Seberang Perai, Malaysia, which was the first of its kind to enter Singapore’s National Collection.
You can also play with this modern take on the congkak.
Step into a recreation of the 2024 FIDE World Chess Championship arena in Singapore, where reigning champion Ding Liren of China faced India’s Gukesh Dommaraju in their first final.
This robot is ready to play chess or Go with you. It’s used by the Singapore Chess Federation and the Singapore Weiqi Association to help train players.
A Play Kiosk features board games you can borrow and play, from familiar titles like Connect Four and Monopoly to locally designed ones like Singaporean Dream and Hawker Wars.
Climbs & Slides by Forest & Whale reimagines the Snakes And Ladders board as a 3D installation.
