Game

Wooden die, metal box, and wood cover most likely used in a game called 輦寶 lien poh ("turning treasure") or 寶蓋 poh kam ("treasure cover"). It consists of a metal box on a metal base which holds a wooden die with the characters 通寶 Tong Bao carved on either side, one in regular script and the other in a seal script. The 通 Tong is in red and the 寶 Bao is in white. There is a wooden cover that fits neatly over the metal box to conceal the die. The game is played by placing the box containing the die in the center of a square crossed by diagonal lines, which is drawn upon a mat. One of the four divisions of the square is painted red. The players lay their bets upon the other divisions, and the die is placed in the metal box with the cover on top and spun. When it stops spinning it is then placed in the center of the mat so that the sides line up with the diagonal lines and the cover is removed. Whoever placed a bet on the division that has the red side of the die facing it wins. If the red part faces the division that is red the dealer wins.