Overview

Banqi (Half Chess), also known as Dark Chess or Blind Chess, is a two-player Chinese board game played on half of a Xiangqi (Chinese chess) board. All 32 pieces start face-down and are revealed during play. Players capture opponent pieces based on a ranking system, creating a game of incomplete information and tactical deduction. Most games last 10-20 minutes.

Components

• Half of a Xiangqi board (4x8 grid, 32 squares)
• 32 Xiangqi pieces (16 per side: Red and Black)

Pieces per Side (7 types, 16 total)

| Piece | Quantity | Rank | |——-|———-|——| | General | 1 | Highest (7) | | Chariot | 2 | 6 | | Horse | 2 | 5 | | Cannon | 2 | Special | | Advisor | 2 | 4 | | Elephant | 2 | 3 | | Soldier | 5 | Lowest (1) |

Setup

1. All 32 pieces are shuffled and placed face-down randomly on the 32 squares of the 4x8 grid.
2. The first player turns any one piece face-up. The color of that piece determines which color that player controls for the rest of the game.

Turn Structure

On each turn, a player performs exactly one of three actions:

1. Flip: Turn a face-down piece face-up.
2. Move: Move one of your face-up pieces one square orthogonally (up, down, left, or right).
3. Capture: Capture an adjacent enemy piece (following capture rules).

Actions

Flipping

Turn any face-down piece face-up. This reveals the piece for all players. You may flip any piece regardless of color.

Moving

Move one of your own face-up pieces one square in any orthogonal direction (not diagonal). You cannot move onto a square occupied by a friendly piece or a face-down piece.

Capturing (Standard Pieces)

A piece may capture an adjacent enemy piece of equal or lower rank, with one exception:

• Soldiers can capture the General (the lowest captures the highest).
• The General cannot capture Soldiers.

Capturing (Cannon)

The Cannon captures differently from all other pieces:

• It does NOT capture adjacent pieces normally.
• Instead, it captures by jumping: it moves any distance along a row or column, jumping over exactly one intermediate piece (the “screen”).
• The screen can be any piece: friendly, enemy, or face-down.
• All squares between the Cannon and screen, and between the screen and target, must be empty.
• The Cannon can capture any piece regardless of rank.
• The Cannon still moves normally (one square orthogonally) when not capturing.

Scoring / Victory Conditions

The game ends when a player cannot make a legal move. That player loses.

Most commonly, a player loses because all their pieces have been captured, leaving them with no pieces to move.

A draw may be agreed upon if neither player can force a win.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• The first piece flipped determines which player plays which color.
• Face-down pieces block movement but can be jumped by Cannons as screens.
• The General-Soldier exception is circular: Soldiers beat Generals, but Generals cannot attack Soldiers.
• Cannons can capture any piece but must jump exactly one screen.
• A Cannon without a screen available cannot capture (but can still move).
• There is no check or checkmate mechanic; the General is simply captured like any other piece.

Player Reference

Piece Ranking (High to Low)

General > Chariot > Horse > Cannon* > Advisor > Elephant > Soldier

*Cannon captures by jumping, not by rank

Special Capture Rules

• Soldier captures General (exception to ranking)
• General cannot capture Soldier
• Cannon jumps exactly 1 screen to capture any piece

Turn Options

1. Flip any face-down piece
2. Move your piece 1 square orthogonally
3. Capture an adjacent enemy piece (or Cannon jump-capture)