XiangQi is one of the most played board games in the world. Translated loosely as "elephant game", XiangQi may have first been played during the 4th century BC of early China; in the state of Qi during the Warring State Period. Based closely on ancient Chinese military strategy, XiangQi draws comparisons to European Chess, but in actuality the two games have no direct connections.
XiangQi, commonly referred to in English as Chinese Chess, is played with 32 pieces (16 per player) on a board that is 9 lines wide and 10 lines long. As in the game of Go, the game is played on the intersections of the gameboard. The area of play is divided into two territories by a river in the middle of gameboard. In each territory there is a 3 line by 3 line palace, in which each player's respective General/Marshal is located. The object of the game is to capture the opponents's General/Marshal. The other pieces in the game include Chariots, Horses, Elephants, Advisors, Cannons, and Soldiers.
The price of the game varies depending on the material used in the game. Inexpensive sets are usually made with plastic or low-grade wooden pieces and a paper gameboard. Expensive sets are usually made with jade or high-grade wooden pieces and a wooden gameboard.
Korean Chess (Changgi) uses a similar board and pieces with different rules.
You can also use a XiangQi set to play Banqi.
There is a smaller version of XiangQi known as Mini XiangQi.
There is a three player version known as San guo qi and a seven person version called Qiguo Xiangqi.
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