Janggi

How to play

Korea’s own chess, close cousin to Xiangqi but with real differences worth learning on their own terms: the King and Guards can cut diagonally across the palace from a corner to the centre, the Elephant leaps a stretched 1-then-2 pattern, the Horse moves freely with no blocking leg, and a Cannon can neither screen off of nor capture another Cannon.

Rules

  • Tap one of your (red) pieces, then a highlighted point to move it there.
  • The King and Guards can step within the palace, including its diagonals — a corner can jump straight to the centre.
  • The Elephant leaps a stretched pattern: one step, then two more in the same direction, and nothing may block either leg.
  • The Cannon must jump exactly one piece (never another Cannon) to move or capture, and cannot capture a Cannon.
  • Capture the AI's King to win. As with this hub's other chess-family games, play continues until the King is actually captured, rather than full check/checkmate detection.

Tips

Guards and King share the same moves and both can cut across the palace diagonals from a corner to the centre — use that shortcut to react quickly on either side of the palace. Cannons are powerful but brittle: they can't jump another Cannon or capture one, so a well-placed Cannon of your own can wall the AI's off completely.