When I was little, my parents used to play boardgames on a regular. Monopoly was of course a staple, teaching the ruthlessness of a capitalistic society. As I got older, games like Trivial Pursuit were introduced. Due to me still being too young to know most of it, I found a hack in just reading all the cards. That really breaks the game though, and is a mighty example of game breaking design. After that I recall my parents more oftenly resorting to something domino-like. A more basic design of a game. It has been a while since those days.

Having played so many board games as a child, I find that I don’t have the same enthusiasm for them now. Yet I am an avid player of video games, and do play those on a very regular basis. One could say that one thing turned into another, which brings me to the following.

You know what really gained importance for me again, newsletters. It was via this medium that I noticed that Get On Down was selling a Wu-Tang inspired board game, Shaolin: A Wu-Tang Inspired Board Game. At first I did not think much of it, since Wu has so many licensed products nowadays, and sometimes they are just too gimmicky to me. I am sure there is an audience for Wu-Tang Crocs, just not me. Same for the RZA bobby digital sword, though I have to say that I never really saw bobby digital as a sword guy.

A couple of months later, I came across the game again in my inbox, this time in a mailing list from 36 Chambers. . It was at this point that I noticed the involvement of RZA’s shifu, Shi Yan Ming. A man about which I read a lot in Sophia Chang’s Baddest Bitch (https://www.sophchang.com/writing), an amazing read and recommendation for Wu fans. This connection was enough to spark my curiosity, and I decided to learn more about the game.

The backstory of the game’s creation is what really sold me. Mike and Tiffany of Chill B Games came up with the idea after watching Wu-Tang: An American Saga (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9113406). After each episode, they would dive into online recaps and discussions, quizzing each other on Wu-Tang trivia. That’s when they realized that no such trivia game existed. Despite having no prior experience in game design or connections to the music industry, they decided to create one. They didn’t want to make just another trivia game—they wanted to bring something more to the table, incorporating a storyline and elements of strategy and battle. Inspired by The 36th Chamber of Shaolin (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078243/), the game revolves around the journey of a monk training through 35 chambers with the ultimate goal of creating the 36th chamber.

They developed a prototype and, despite not securing an official Wu-Tang license at first, they pressed on. After playtesting it at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema on Staten Island (https://drafthouse.com/nyc/theater/staten-island), the positive feedback motivated them to move forward with mass production. During the final stages of artwork, they connected with Shifu Shi Yan Ming, who contributed original calligraphy for the game. They also managed to connect with RZA’s manager at a show, gaining the RZA-approved stamp to sell it on 36chambers.com

All in all quite a wild story that sells it to me. The game really looks like something they put their heart into, and is more than just a trivia challenge; it’s a unique intersection of Wu-Tang history, strategy, and fandom that makes it a must-have for any die-hard fan.

Now, as a trivia game, Shaolin is perfect for holiday nights with friends, where you can see who the real Wu-est fan is. Suuuuu. The inclusion of difficulty levels in the questions ensures that you do not have to limit yourself to only your fellow nerds. As said, there is a lot more to it besides the trivia aspect. Luckily they made some videos to explain how everything works (https://www.chillbgames.com/howtoplay).

Something that might be of interest for the future, would be expansion packs with new questions, which could feature groups like Sunz of Man or Killarmy, or focus on the Wu-Elements. The lore is deep enough to support it..

So whether you’re treating yourself or surprising someone else, this is the perfect gift this season. The game is available via the online stores—don’t miss out! Because this will hold you down untill we get that Wu-Tang video game Brass Lion is working on.

Get it here:
Chill B Games website: https://chillbgames.myshopify.com/products/shaolin
36 Chambers: https://36chambers.thewutangclan.com/collections/featured-releases/products/shaolin-a-wu-tang-inspired-board-game-first-edition
Mass Appeal: https://shop.massappeal.com/products/shaolin-wu-tang-inspired-board-game-by-chill-b-games
Get On Down: https://getondown.com/products/shaolin-1st-edition-board-game
HHV: https://www.hhv.de/en/records/item/chill-b-games-shaolin-wu-tang-inspired-board-game-1144990