Makruk

How to play

Thai chess, close cousin of the game that became international chess. Kings, Rooks and Knights move as you know them; the Queen and the Bishop (the “General” and “Nobleman”) step only a single square, and pawns promote on the sixth rank.

Rules

  • Tap one of your (red) pieces, then a highlighted square to move it there.
  • The King, Rook and Knight move exactly as they do in international chess.
  • The Met (♕) steps one square diagonally only; the Khon (♗) steps one square diagonally or straight forward.
  • The Bia (♙) pawn steps straight forward and captures diagonally, promoting to a Met on the sixth rank.
  • Capture the AI’s King to win.

Tips

Makruk pieces are short-ranged, so the Rook and Knight are proportionally much stronger — develop and use them. The Met and Khon crawl one step at a time, so advance them behind pawns rather than into the open, and push a pawn to the sixth rank to earn a second Met.