广东省广州市11岁男孩张子彦自去年寒假起就迷上了桌游，他说道：“每天我都和同学在附近的体育馆中玩这个游戏，一直玩到晚上9点半场馆熄灯为止。”整个假期里，张子彦不停地学习桌游《三国杀》的战略战术。据游戏邦了解，这是首款带有中国元素的角色扮演类卡牌桌游，里面的角色全部来自中国古典小说《三国演义》。张子彦说道：“根据小说中描写的原型，游戏中每个武将都有不同的技能和武器，这个游戏也提起我对这段历史的兴趣。”

三国杀

现代桌游已于近期席卷中国大陆市场，全国各地许多孩子都迷上这种游戏。由《中国日报》和搜狐网站在2月14日至17日进行的在线调查显示，回复的343人中有87%的人声称他们经常看见小学生或中学生在玩《三国杀》之类的桌游，60%的人周围已出现迷上这类游戏的孩子。

2008年创办于北京的游卡桌游公司营销主管王冬认为，《三国杀》用卡牌的方式重新展现了三国这段历史，这也正是游戏为何受全国上下各年龄段人群欢迎的原因。游戏邦了解到，2009年该游戏为公司带来2千万元人民币（约合3百万美元）的营业额，去年已上升至5千万。

然而，桌游玩家数量的急剧增长也引起社会的重视，游戏可能对青少年玩家有些许副作用。上海某11岁男孩沉迷《三国杀》，他的母亲丁女士说道：“游戏中某些角色身上几乎一丝不挂，这有害儿童的身心健康。而且，游戏中的历史与现实不符，可能误导孩子对真实历史事件的理解。”23岁的徐靖熙在北京某多媒体公司上班，他说道：“我并不认为这些为成年人设计的游戏适合青少年，而这些年少的人对其如此狂热恰恰说明适合孩子玩的好游戏并不多。”

调查显示，超过半数的人认为这种桌游对青少年有害。由于青少年越来越热衷于游玩为成年人设计的游戏，社会学家认为必须设计更多适合孩子的游戏。这种游戏必须含有较多有益儿童智力发展的内容，而且不能有任何性暗示或暴力。北京大学社会学教授夏学銮说道：“目前市场上出售的大部分游戏均属商业化产品。因此，教育部门应展开行动，为学龄儿童设计些许桌游，因为娱乐在教育改革中也占有很大比重。”而且，专家也希望能够有某些家庭互动游戏，用以增进孩子同父母间的感情。（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，转载请注明来源：游戏邦）

Concerns surge as children get hooked on games

Zhang Ziyan, an 11-year-old boy in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, became hooked on a new board game during the last winter holidays. “Every day I played the game in a neighborhood gymnasium with classmates until 9:30 pm, when the lights were turned off,” said Zhang.

Throughout the holidays, Zhang kept studying strategies for the game, which is called Sanguosha, or Killers of the Three Kingdoms, and is the first card-based role-playing game with Chinese elements based on characters from the classic Chinese novel, Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

“Each character in the game is given distinct skills and weapons according to their originals in the novel, and the game made me interested in the history of that period,” said Zhang.

The boy is just one of the many children nationwide who have tuned in to the latest craze sweeping the country: modern board games.

An online poll co-conducted by China Daily and sohu.com, a major online portal in China, from Feb 14 to 17 found that 87 percent of the 343 respondents said they often see primary or middle school students playing board games like Sanguosha, and 60 percent of the respondents knew children who were obsessed by such games.

Wang Dong, marketing director of Yoka Games, a Beijing-based company launched in 2008, said Sanguosha is a respectful reinterpretation of the history in the Three Kingdoms (AD 220-280) using cards, and this is the real reason why it has gained nationwide popularity across a range of age groups.

He said the game made a 20-million-yuan ($3 million) turnover for the company in 2009, with the figure rising to 50 million yuan last year.

However, the rapid growth in board game players, especially children, has given rise to new public concerns that the games might have harmful side effects on young players.

“Some characters in the game are scantily clothed, which is unhealthy for children,” said a mother in Shanghai surnamed Ding whose 11-year-old boy has also become a Sanguosha addict. “And the unofficial history blended in the game might mislead the children’s understanding of the real history.”

Xu Jingxi, a 23-year-old who works for a media organization in Beijing, said: “I don’t think these board games designed for adults are appropriate for children. The fact that the craze for these games has extended to the young shows that there aren’t many good games for children.”

The survey showed that more than half of the respondents did not think such board games were beneficial to children.

As more children become fans of games designed for adults, sociologists believe more games that are suitable for children should be produced. These games should have more elements that are good for children’s intellectual development, and should not have any sexual content or violence.

“Most games on the market are commercial products. In such circumstances, the education department can take action to design some board games for schoolchildren, because edutainment is also an important part of education reform,” said Xia Xueluan, a sociology professor with Peking University.

In addition, experts would also like to see some interactive family games that are specifically designed to strengthen the bonds between children and parents. (Source: China Daily)