Cờ Gánh

How to play

A Vietnamese game of flipping allegiances on a 5×5 lattice. Slide a piece along a line; if you bracket an enemy pair between two of yours — or trap enemies in a corner — they don’t die, they switch to your colour.

Rules

  • Tap one of your (red) pieces, then a highlighted point to slide it one step along a line.
  • Sliding in so an enemy piece (or an unbroken pair of them) sits directly between your moved piece and another of your pieces flips that enemy to your colour (gánh).
  • An enemy piece left with no empty point beside it at all also flips to your colour (vây) — and this can chain if the flip surrounds a further enemy.
  • Turn the whole board to your colour to win — or win immediately if the AI is ever left with no legal move.

Tips

Because captured pieces switch sides rather than vanishing, a single well-placed move can swing several pieces at once — and the same move can be used against you next turn. Watch for lines where sliding in completes a “your–enemy–your” bracket, and avoid leaving your own pieces one move away from being bracketed.