Xiangqi
Cross the river. Trap the general.
Xiangqi is Chinese chess: two players, sixteen pieces each, and a board with a river across the middle. Trap the other general so that no move saves it. Here is everything you need to know before you sit down.
- Free practice
- No sign-up
- Play in your browser
Join a Game Room
XiangqiGot a room code?
- Players
- 2
- You need
- A 9 by 10 board, 32 pieces
- Style
- Strategy
- Goal
- Trap the general
What is Xiangqi?
Two armies. One river.
Xiangqi is played on a board of nine lines by ten, and the pieces stand on the points where the lines cross. A river runs across the middle, and each side has a palace, nine points marked with an X, in front of its home edge. Red has sixteen pieces and Black sixteen: a general, two advisors, two elephants, two horses, two chariots, two cannons and five soldiers.
Red moves first, then the players take turns. The goal is to trap the other general so that no move saves it. There are no dice and no hidden pieces: every result comes from the moves the two players choose.
The practice table
Try itLearn it one move at a time.
Play against a bot with our rules. Tap one of your pieces to see where it can go, then tap a point, and the coach shows its move and tells you how yours compared.
- Easy, Normal, or Sharp bots. Sharp looks several moves ahead.
- Characters or letters: learn the pieces on the board, with a key if you want it.
- No account, no host, nothing saved.
Score beside each name: material in soldiers
Tap one of your pieces.
Your move.
You are Red. Red moves first.
Quick rules
- You play Red first, and the bot plays Black. Red moves first. Play again swaps sides.
- Pieces stand on the points where the lines cross. Tap one of your pieces to see where it can go, then tap a point to move it.
- The general stays in its palace (the X) and steps one point. Advisors step one point diagonally inside the palace. Elephants jump two points diagonally, never cross the river, and are blocked by a piece between.
- The horse steps one point straight, then one diagonally outward. A piece on the straight step blocks it. The chariot slides any distance.
- The cannon slides like a chariot, but captures by jumping over exactly one piece. A soldier steps forward, and once across the river, sideways too. Never backward.
- The generals may never face each other with nothing between them. You can never leave your own general attacked.
- A player with no legal move loses, checkmated or not. A cycle of repeated positions is a draw, unless one side gave check with every move, and then that side loses. Sixty moves each with no capture is a draw.
Found a bug, or a rule that feels off?Tell us in our Discord →
A little history
An old game, played by millions.
Xiangqi, often called Chinese chess, is one of the most played board games in the world, and it has been played in China for well over a thousand years. It is a cousin of Western chess, but it plays very differently.
The river, the palaces, the cannon that must jump a screen and the generals that may not face each other all give it a character of its own. The characters on the pieces name their roles, and the two armies use different characters for the same piece.
Fun facts
- The cannon is the only piece that captures differently from how it moves. It has to jump exactly one piece, either side’s.
- Unlike in chess, a player with no legal move loses, even when the general is not in check.
- The two generals may never face each other along a line with nothing between them. A piece in front of a general can be pinned in place.
Why people love it
Familiar to learn. Sharp to play.
A lively opening.
Cannons and chariots come out fast, so there is something to do from the first move.
A river with rules.
Elephants stay home, and soldiers gain a sideways step once they cross. The river shapes every game.
Cannons that bite.
A cannon needs a screen to capture, which makes tactics out of how the pieces line up.
No fence-sitting.
The generals may not face each other, and stalemate loses, so games rarely drift into draws.
How to play
Set up. Move. Trap.
Setup
- Players: two: you and a bot. Red moves first, at the bottom.
- Board: nine lines by ten, with the river across the middle and a palace at each end.
- Pieces: sixteen each: a general, two advisors, two elephants, two horses, two chariots, two cannons and five soldiers.
- Start: back rank first, cannons on the third line, soldiers on every other point of the fourth.
Winning
Trap the other general so that no move saves it. A player with no legal move loses, whether the general is in check or not.
- 1
The general and advisors
The general steps one point along a line and never leaves its palace. Advisors step one point diagonally inside the palace.
- 2
Elephants
An elephant jumps exactly two points diagonally, cannot jump a piece on the point in between, and never crosses the river.
- 3
Horses
A horse steps one point straight, then one diagonally outward. A piece on the straight step blocks it.
- 4
Chariots and cannons
The chariot slides any distance. The cannon slides the same way, but to capture it must jump exactly one piece on the way to its target.
- 5
Soldiers
A soldier steps one point forward. Once it has crossed the river it may also step sideways. Soldiers never move backward.
- 6
Check and the generals
You may never leave your own general attacked, and the two generals may never face each other with nothing between them.
These are our Classic rules, taken from the Feral Game Kit's definition of the game. When the same position comes up for the third time since the last capture, a player who gave check with every move of the cycle loses, and otherwise it is a draw. Sixty moves each with no capture is a draw. A player may resign. The rules are shown in every room before the game starts. Printable rules card →
Lessons
Learn it in a few minutes.
8 quick lessons, one idea each. Make the call, see why it works, and move on. Your progress is saved in this browser.
The board
Where do the pieces stand?
Scoring
What every piece is worth.
There are no points in Xiangqi. This is a rough scale for deciding trades, in soldiers. Count material before you trade.
| Piece | Worth | |
|---|---|---|
| Chariot | 9 | |
| Cannon | 4 to 5 | |
| Horse | 4 | |
| Advisor | 2 | |
| Elephant | 2 | |
| Soldier | 1 (2 across the river) | |
| General | Lose it, lose the game |
Cannons get weaker as pieces come off the board, since they need screens, and horses get stronger. The practice table shows the material count for both sides beside each name.
Strategy
Play it smart. Then play it feral.
Tip 1
Open a line for a chariot.
The chariot is by far the strongest piece. Get one onto an open line early.
Tip 2
Keep your horses free.
A horse can be blocked by its own side’s pieces. Keep the points next to it empty, and keep your horses guarding each other.
Tip 3
Open with a cannon.
A cannon on the middle line, aiming at the other general through the central soldier, is a common first move. A horse on the same side is the usual answer.
Tip 4
Watch the screens.
A piece in front of your general can become the screen an enemy cannon needs.
Tip 5
Never open the generals’ line by accident.
A move that leaves the generals facing each other is illegal, and a pinned piece cannot leave the file.
What would you do?
One decision. Every day.
A new Xiangqi puzzle every day, the same for everyone. Solve it, then send it to the group chat and see who gets it right.
Want more? See today's puzzles for every game →
Your path to game night
Learn it here. Play it with friends.
Finish the lessons or win a practice game and you're ready to sit down at a real Xiangqi table with your people.
The Feral Worlds community
Play-testing Xiangqi? Tell us in Discord.
Found a bug, a rule that feels off, or a house rule your family swears by? Our Discord is where we collect play-test feedback, and where game nights are starting to happen.
Glossary
Talk like a regular.
- River
- The gap across the middle of the board. Elephants never cross it, and soldiers gain a sideways step across it.
- Palace
- The nine points marked with an X at each end. The general and advisors stay inside.
- General
- The piece you must protect. It steps one point along a line, inside the palace.
- Screen
- The piece a cannon jumps over to capture.
- Flying general
- The rule that the two generals may not face each other with nothing between them.
- Perpetual check
- Giving check with every move of a repeating cycle. The side that does it loses.
- Point
- A crossing of two lines. Pieces stand on points, not in squares.
The Feral twist
Still under the hat.
Every game can be played Classic. In Feral mode, the host writes the house rules: how repeats are judged, the move limit, whether you can resign. We'll show you what Xiangqi can do when it's ready.
In the Board Games pack
Xiangqi is on the ballot.
Backers vote on which board games join the Board Games pack. Owning the pack means every one that joins is yours too.
$9.95, one time, to host every game in it. Playing is always free. Packs go on sale when the full game launches.
Xiangqi is on the ballot
Save me a seat.
Hear when the Kickstarter opens so you can vote Xiangqi into the Board Games pack, and when you can host it with friends.