It was September in Xiamen. Autumn hadn’t quite arrived, but we were already in the mood to celebrate.
Up at a woodland campsite, with the breeze in the trees and birdsong all around, the Mechanist Games team gathered for a night of Bo Bing, the traditional Mid-Autumn dice game.

Gather Round and Let the Good Luck Roll

In southern Fujian, nothing says Mid-Autumn quite like the clatter of dice.
We crowded around the tables, the dice hit the bowls, and our hearts bounced right along with all six dice.

“Whatever happens, happens,” we said.
Funny how we were all leaning in already.
Never mind the prizes for a moment. We weren’t missing a second of this roll.

So many Wu Zi Deng Ke—five-of-a-kind rolls!
And Liu Bei Hei rolls too!!
It wasn’t just that people were landing Zhuangyuan, the champion rolls.
The scores were off the charts!

Had all the luckiest people decided to hold their own team outing tonight?
The moment the prizes were in their arms, the grins took care of themselves.
Group photo first. Getting all those prizes home? We’d figure that out later.

More Rounds, More Chances to Get Lucky

Every table had its champion, but the night’s luck wasn’t used up yet.
In “Champion of Champions,” the highest score still won.
“Dream Within a Dream” turned things around: this time, the lowest won.

We’d barely finished chasing the biggest numbers before we were cheering for the smallest.
Turns out low scores deserve their moment too.
Who knew you could win by wishing for less?

Everyone Had an Eye on the Grill

Time to put the prizes down. Those skewers weren’t going to stay hot forever.
Some of us were cooking, some were handing out food, and some had appointed themselves progress managers:
“Ready yet? Ready yet? Ready yet?”

Pass around a handful of skewers, and the conversation soon follows.
As we ate and chatted, the sky grew darker and the string lights began to glow.
The campsite took on a whole new look after dark.

There was still heat coming off the grill, and no one was in a rush to call it a night.
Our “Moonlight Wanderings” just kept getting better.

The night sky, the glow of the grills, and those faces caught before anyone could strike a pose…
All part of a night for the Mechanist Games team to remember.

Feeling Lucky? Let Luck Do the Answering

Our two hosts kept the banter going and the terrible jokes coming.
Nearly 300 of us took on a series of gloriously ridiculous multiple-choice questions.
We gave our answers some serious thought. Whether they were right was pure luck.

Six correct answers in a row earned you a trip onstage to open a red envelope!
We won’t be asking the winners to share their strategies.
There’s a good chance even they couldn’t explain how they got there.

A Little Good Luck for Everyday Life

The final question was about the good luck each of us was hoping for.
Here’s hoping the things you’ve been looking forward to bring good news, and an ordinary day turns into a lovely surprise.

Life doesn’t always make sense.
May some of the good luck that comes your way be just as hard to explain.