How to play
Xiangqi is played on the 90 intersections of a board 9 lines wide and 10 lines long. A river crosses the middle, and each side has a palace of nine points marked with diagonal lines. Red sits at the bottom and moves first; Black plays from the top. Every piece is a disc with its Chinese name.
The pieces
- General (帥 / 將) moves one point up, down, left or right, and never leaves its palace.
- Advisors (仕 / 士) move one point diagonally, also only inside the palace.
- Elephants (相 / 象) move exactly two points diagonally. They cannot jump: if the point in between (the “elephant’s eye”) is occupied, the move is blocked. Elephants never cross the river.
- Horses (傌 / 馬) move one point straight and then one point diagonally outward. If the point next to the horse in that direction is occupied (its “leg”), it cannot go that way.
- Chariots (俥 / 車) move like chess rooks, any distance in a straight line.
- Cannons (炮 / 砲) move like chariots, but capture differently: a cannon captures by jumping over exactly one piece (its “screen”) to land on an enemy piece behind it.
- Soldiers (兵 / 卒) move one point forward. Once they have crossed the river, they may also move one point sideways. They never move backward.
Special rules
- Flying general. The two generals may never face each other on the same line with no pieces between them. A move that would leave them facing is illegal.
- Check. You may never leave your own general in check. A ring of red light marks a general in check.
- Winning. If the player to move has no legal move, they lose. That covers checkmate, and unlike Western chess, a player with no legal move who is not in check loses too.
- Draw. If 120 moves pass without a capture, the game is drawn. This version uses that simple limit instead of the tournament rules on perpetual check and chasing.
To move, tap one of your pieces and then a highlighted point; a red ring marks pieces you can capture.
At the top, choose your Opponent. Against the Computer you play Red and can pick Easy, Medium or Hard. Choose Friend to play two people on one device. Hint shows a good move for the player to move, and Undo takes back one move against a friend, or your move together with the computer’s answer.
Strategy
- Get your chariots out early. The chariot is the strongest piece. A classic opening moves a chariot up through the edge file or behind a horse.
- The central cannon. Moving a cannon to the middle file at once threatens the enemy’s center soldier and, with a screen, the general itself. It is the most common first move.
- Mind your horse’s legs. A horse hemmed in by its own pieces is useless. Keep its paths open.
- Use the screen. A cannon needs a piece to jump over. Sometimes the best defense against a cannon is to move the screen away, or to put a second piece in the line.
- Keep advisors and elephants home. They are defenders. Losing them leaves your general open to attacks from horses and chariots.
- Use the flying general rule. Your general controls its whole file: an enemy general cannot step onto it, which helps a lot in endgames.
The computer counts material and position and looks a few moves ahead, checking captures to the end. Its move generator matches the published move counts for the opening position (44 moves; 1,920 and 79,666 positions after two and three moves).
If you like Chess, compare with Western Chess, or try another ancient battle game, Tablut.
If you enjoy Xiangqi (Chinese Chess), try Accordion Solitaire or Aces Up Solitaire next.
