This week, I want give a shout out to one of the most venerable and respected board games and war games of all time: "Xiangqi (Chinese: 象棋; pinyin: xiàngqí), also called Chinese chess":
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| Attribution: Daniel Danzer |
Similar to Chess, Xiangqi is a two player board game wherein each player controls an army of 16 pieces of various types and attempts to checkmate the opponent's General, whilst preventing the opponent from doing the same. The battlefield consists of a 9 x 10 board with a terrain feature, a river in the middle of the board that is impassible to certain pieces, thus dividing your army into offensive and defensive forces. The other board features are the palaces (or command tents) of the armies (colored in green and red in the photo above), which restrict the movement of the Generals and the Advisors.
Like Chess, in Xiangqi each faces the other from opposite sides of the board but unlike Chess pieces which are placed within the squares, Xiangqi pieces are placed on the intersection of the lines.
Each army, represented as discs with Chinese characters, consists of:
Although Xiangqi developed over a number of centuries, earliest references to the current version of the game come from around 1200 (e.g., a poem by Liu Kechuang (刘克庄), entitled <<象弈一首,呈叶潜仲>>). Although overall complexity is similar to the Game of Kings, Xiangqi's gameplay and tactics are sometimes similar to Chess (e.g., forks, pins, and skewers are possible) but sometimes different. For example, while the Horse and the Knight have similar moves (an orthogonal move followed by a diagonal move), it is possible to block a Horse (i.e., unlike the Knight, the Horse cannot leap over a piece).
In addition, unlike Chess, where the armies occupy the back two ranks of the board (and, indeed, one of the goals of the Development phase in Chess is to "bring your army on to the battlefield"), in Xiangqi, your Soldiers and Cannons are already forward deployed into a skirmish line. This more likely earlier enemy contact, as well as greater long range orthogonal striking power, earlier promotion of Soldiers v. Pawns, and the restricted movement of the General often makes for an faster paced game than Chess.
One of the most popular games in China and other parts of Asia, Xiangqi has developed a following in many parts of the world. Like Chess, Xiangqi is an all-ages game that teaches strategy, patience, forethought and resourcefulness. The rules are fairly easy to learn but the terrain and the different nature of the various pieces add depth and complexity. All in all, it's a fun and challenging game enjoyed by millions everyday.
Any fan of board games and war games owes it to themselves to take a look!
Like Chess, in Xiangqi each faces the other from opposite sides of the board but unlike Chess pieces which are placed within the squares, Xiangqi pieces are placed on the intersection of the lines.
Each army, represented as discs with Chinese characters, consists of:
- 1 General (labelled 將 (trad.) / 将 (simp.) on the black side and 帥 (trad.) / 帅 (simp.) on the red side).
- 2 Advisors (labelled 士 for Black and 仕 for Red).
- 2 Elephants (labeled 象 for Black and 相 for Red).
- 2 Horses (labelled 馬 Black and 傌 for Red).
- 2 Chariots (labelled 車 (trad.) / 车 (simp.) for Black and 俥 (trad.) / 车 (simp.) for Red). The chariot is sometimes called the rook by English-speaking players, since it is functionally identical to the rook in Chess.
- 2 Cannons (labelled 砲 for Black and 炮 for Red).
- 5 Soldiers (labelled 卒 for Black and 兵 for Red).
Although Xiangqi developed over a number of centuries, earliest references to the current version of the game come from around 1200 (e.g., a poem by Liu Kechuang (刘克庄), entitled <<象弈一首,呈叶潜仲>>). Although overall complexity is similar to the Game of Kings, Xiangqi's gameplay and tactics are sometimes similar to Chess (e.g., forks, pins, and skewers are possible) but sometimes different. For example, while the Horse and the Knight have similar moves (an orthogonal move followed by a diagonal move), it is possible to block a Horse (i.e., unlike the Knight, the Horse cannot leap over a piece).
In addition, unlike Chess, where the armies occupy the back two ranks of the board (and, indeed, one of the goals of the Development phase in Chess is to "bring your army on to the battlefield"), in Xiangqi, your Soldiers and Cannons are already forward deployed into a skirmish line. This more likely earlier enemy contact, as well as greater long range orthogonal striking power, earlier promotion of Soldiers v. Pawns, and the restricted movement of the General often makes for an faster paced game than Chess.
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| Attribution: Peter Griffin |
One of the most popular games in China and other parts of Asia, Xiangqi has developed a following in many parts of the world. Like Chess, Xiangqi is an all-ages game that teaches strategy, patience, forethought and resourcefulness. The rules are fairly easy to learn but the terrain and the different nature of the various pieces add depth and complexity. All in all, it's a fun and challenging game enjoyed by millions everyday.
Any fan of board games and war games owes it to themselves to take a look!
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