Jungle Chess rules

Jungle Chess, also known as Dou Shou Qi (斗兽棋, “the game of fighting animals”) or Animal Chess, is a classic Chinese board game for two players. Each player leads eight animals across a jungle board with a river in the middle. The goal is simple: get into the opponent’s den.

The board

The board has 7 columns and 9 rows. Each side has a den in the middle of its back row, guarded by three traps. In the centre of the board there are two river pools separated by land.

Who beats whom

Every animal has a rank. A stronger animal captures animals of the same or lower rank, from strongest to weakest:

1. Elephant – the strongest, but it cannot capture the mouse
2. Lion
3. Tiger
4. Leopard
5. Wolf
6. Dog
7. Cat
8. Mouse – the weakest, yet the only animal that can capture the elephant

Moving

Players take turns. On each turn you move one animal one square up, down, left or right – never diagonally. Moving onto a square occupied by an enemy animal you are allowed to beat captures it.

The mouse swims

Only the mouse can enter the river. While in the water it is safe from animals on land, and it cannot attack anything on land from the water either.

Jumping the river

The tiger and the lion can leap straight over a river pool, across or along it, and capture an animal on the landing square. A mouse swimming in the way blocks the jump.

Traps

An animal standing in one of the opponent’s traps loses its strength – any enemy animal can capture it, even the mouse.

How to win

You win by moving any of your animals into the opponent’s den, or by capturing all of the opponent’s animals.

Playing on junglechess.eu

Jungle Chess: Animal Brawl runs right in your browser, with nothing to install. Play against the computer on five difficulty levels, from A Walk in the Park to Abyss of Damnation, or pass the device between two players. The game is available in English and Polish, and also as an Android app on Google Play.