Free Online Banqi
Flip First, Claim a Color
Banqi uses the xiangqi army, but every piece starts face-down on a short 8×4 board. You do not pick red or black. The first disc you turn over is yours; the other player takes the opposite color. After that, each turn is a flip or a one-step move. You win by capturing the last enemy piece, or by leaving the opponent with nothing legal to do.
How Banqi Works
The board is eight files by four ranks. All thirty-two pieces start hidden. The first flip assigns that color to the player who turned it. A face-up piece of your color moves one square orthogonally. Captures follow Taiwanese rank: king, advisor, elephant, chariot, horse, cannon, soldier. Equals may take equals. A soldier may take a king; a king may not take a soldier. Face-down discs cannot be captured.
A cannon steps one square when it is not capturing. To capture, it jumps exactly one screen onto an enemy that is already showing, any rank. The AI on this site never peeks at hidden pieces. A player with no legal flip or move loses. After one hundred twenty half-moves without a capture or a flip, this site declares a draw.
Flip Before You Hunt
There are no home camps. The army is mixed across thirty-two squares. Turning discs near the center often gives you a usable piece sooner; discs on the edge can wait and serve as cannon screens. Every flip adds information and also adds something the opponent can capture, so knowing when to stop flipping is part of the game.
Soldiers Take Kings
The king outranks everything except that one reversal. Once your king is showing, any hidden neighbor might be a soldier. Cannons are weak in a face-to-face fight, but a jump over one screen captures any face-up enemy. The screen may be hidden or one of your own pieces. Parking a cannon on a crowded file is usually better than walking it into a duel.
Replay the Flip That Hurt
There are multiple AI levels, and you can sit first or second. Hints help when a surprise disc wrecks a plan; undo lets you try a different square. After the game, the move record is most useful for finding the turn that exposed a king, skipped a capture, or walked a soldier next to the general. The search stays in the browser.
8×4board
32hidden at the start
K→Pseven capture ranks
Wipeoutor no legal move wins
Frequently Asked Questions
Banqi uses xiangqi pieces, so how different can it be?
Very. Banqi plays on half a board, eight by four, with no palace and no river. All thirty-two pieces start face-down, and nobody knows who is red until the first flip. On each turn you either flip a disc or step one of your pieces a single square. Captures depend on rank, not on how a horse or elephant moves in xiangqi.
I flipped a black piece first. Am I stuck with black now?
Yes. Whatever color the first flip shows belongs to the player who turned it, and the opponent takes the other side. It is pure luck, so there is no point worrying about which color is better. Look at what came up and plan from there.
The king is the strongest piece. How can a soldier capture it?
That is the Taiwanese rule. Ranks run king, advisor, elephant, chariot, horse, cannon, soldier. Higher takes lower and equals can trade, with one exception: a soldier can take the king, and the king can never take a soldier. Once your king is face-up, be careful around hidden discs. Any of them could be an enemy soldier.
How does the cannon capture?
When it is not capturing, a cannon steps one square like everything else. To capture, it jumps along a straight line over exactly one piece and lands on a face-up enemy behind it, whatever that enemy's rank. The piece it jumps over can be hidden or one of your own.
Can I capture a piece that is still face-down?
No. Hidden discs are off limits, and a cannon can only use one as a screen, never as a target. If a disc is in your way, flip it first. If it turns out to be an enemy, you can go after it next turn.
Does the AI peek at the hidden pieces?
Never. It sees the pieces that are face-up and knows which ones each side still has hidden, which is exactly what you know. Its flips are a gamble too, and sometimes they hand you something useful.
How do you win, and can a game end in a draw?
You win by capturing every enemy piece, or when your opponent has no disc to flip and no legal move to make. If one hundred twenty half-moves pass with no capture and no flip, the game is a draw, so two players shuffling back and forth cannot stall forever.
Can I let the AI flip first?
Yes. Switch yourself to second in the side panel and the AI opens with the first flip, which also decides the colors. Changing sides starts a fresh game rather than continuing the current one.
How should I use hints, undo, and replay so I actually improve?
Decide for yourself whether you want to flip or capture, then check the hint. Hints use the AI level you picked, not a hidden stronger engine. If a move backfires, undo and try another idea. After the game, step through the replay to find the turning point. Usually it is a king flipped too early, a free capture you skipped, or a soldier walked up to the enemy king.
Do I need an account or an app? Will my game survive closing the tab?
No account and no download. Open the page on a phone or computer and make your first flip. Games against the AI and on a shared screen are saved in this browser, so you can usually pick up where you left off. Clearing this site's browser data wipes those games too.
