Rules
Junqi (军棋, "army chess") is a game for two players. You see where each piece of your opponent is, but not what it is. You win when you capture the flag of your opponent.
Board Pieces Setup Moves Combat End of the game What you know
The board
- The board has 5 columns and 12 rows. Each player owns 6 rows.
- A post is a normal square.
- A camp is a round square. Each side has 5. A piece in a camp cannot be attacked. This is true for all 10 camps and for the pieces of both players. Camps start empty.
- A headquarters is one of the two squares with a gold frame in each back row. A piece on a headquarters cannot move for the rest of the game.
- A road is a thin line. Each camp also has four diagonal roads.
- A railroad is a thick dashed line.
- The two sides connect at three places only: the left column, the middle column, and the right column. The left and right connections are railroad. The middle one is a road.
The pieces
Each player has 25 pieces. A number is a rank. A higher number is a stronger piece.
| Piece | Name | Rank | Count | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 司令 | Marshal | 9 | 1 | The strongest piece. When you lose it, your opponent sees where your flag is. |
| 军长 | General | 8 | 1 | |
| 师长 | Major General | 7 | 2 | |
| 旅长 | Brigadier | 6 | 2 | |
| 团长 | Colonel | 5 | 2 | |
| 营长 | Major | 4 | 2 | |
| 连长 | Captain | 3 | 3 | |
| 排长 | Lieutenant | 2 | 3 | |
| 工兵 | Engineer | 1 | 3 | The weakest rank. It removes a landmine. It can turn corners on a railroad. |
| 炸弹 ✸ | Bomb | none | 2 | It moves. It removes itself and the piece it meets. |
| 地雷 ▲ | Landmine | none | 3 | It does not move. It removes a piece that attacks it. |
| 军旗 ⚑ | Flag | none | 1 | It does not move. You lose when it is captured. |
Setup
Before the game, each player arranges their 25 pieces on the 25 posts and headquarters of their side. Your opponent does not see your arrangement.
- The flag must start on one of your two headquarters.
- Each landmine must start in your back two rows.
- A bomb must not start in your front row.
- Camps start empty.
On the game page, select a piece and then a piece with a green frame to swap them. Shuffle gives a new random arrangement. Press Ready when you are satisfied. You cannot change the arrangement after that.
Moves
Players take turns. The player who created the game moves first. On your turn you move one piece.
- On a road, a piece moves one step to a connected square.
- On a railroad, a piece moves any distance in a straight line. It cannot jump over a piece.
- An engineer on a railroad can also turn corners in the same move. It still cannot jump over a piece.
- A landmine and the flag do not move.
- A piece on a headquarters does not move. This is true for all pieces, on your headquarters and on those of your opponent.
- You cannot move onto your own piece.
- You can move into an empty camp on either side. You cannot move into a camp that has a piece in it.
- You cannot skip a turn.
Combat
When you move onto a piece of your opponent, you attack it. The result depends on the two pieces.
| Attack | Result |
|---|---|
| A higher rank attacks a lower rank | The lower rank is removed. This is the same when the lower rank is the attacker. |
| Two equal ranks | Both pieces are removed. |
| A bomb attacks a piece, or a piece attacks a bomb | Both pieces are removed. This includes a bomb that attacks a landmine. |
| An engineer attacks a landmine | The landmine is removed. The engineer moves onto its square. |
| A different rank attacks a landmine | The attacker is removed. The landmine stays. |
| A piece attacks the flag | The flag is captured. The attacker wins the game. |
A piece that wins an attack moves onto the square of the piece it removed.
The end of the game
You win when one of these occurs:
- You capture the flag of your opponent.
- Your opponent has no piece that can move.
- Your opponent resigns.
There is no chess clock in this version. A table closes after 10 minutes if nobody joins. A game closes after 30 minutes with no new move or setup activity, even if its pages are still open. It also closes if neither browser contacts the referee for 5 minutes.
What you know and what you do not know
- You always see where each piece is and who owns it. is your piece. is a piece of your opponent.
- You do not see what a piece of your opponent is.
- After a combat, both players learn only the result: the attacker was removed, the defender was removed, or both were removed. Neither player is told what the other piece was.
- "Both removed" has two possible causes: equal ranks, or a bomb. The game does not tell you which one.
- A move can also tell you something. A piece that moves is not a landmine and not the flag. A piece that turns a corner on a railroad is an engineer.
- When a player loses the marshal (司令), the flag of that player is shown to the opponent.
The game page records what each combat told you:
- A badge on a red piece shows what you know about it. 7+ means rank 7 or higher. 7+/ with the landmine symbol means rank 7 or higher, or a landmine. A badge with one number means you know the rank.
- A shield marks a piece of your opponent that is in a camp. You cannot attack it there.
- A violet frame marks the two squares of the last move.
- "Your lost pieces" lists the pieces you lost.