Game of the Seven Kingdoms
Game of the Seven Kingdoms (Chinese: 七國象棋, p qī-guó-xiàng-qí ;) is a seven-player variant of the game xiangqi ("Chinese chess"). It is traditionally ascribed to Sima Guang, although he died well before the 13th century, to which this game is traditionally dated. There is skepticism regarding the game's 13th-century formulation.[2] The rules of the game can be found in 古局象棋圖, the book he wrote.[3][4]
 Starting position | |
| Years active | Since 13th century |
|---|---|
| Genres | Abstract strategy game Chess variant |
| Players | 7 |
| Skills required | Strategy, tactics |
| Synonyms | Seven-handed xiangqi Qiquo xiangqi |
Rules of Game
Players
The game is normally played by seven players. If there are fewer players, the extra kingdoms can be removed, or some players can take over more than one kingdoms. Players are allowed to team up, but they are not allowed to discuss with their teammates during the game.
Equipment and Setup
The board is the same as go board. Each side has 17 pieces, a general (將), a chancellor (偏), a diplomat (裨), a cannon (砲), a go-between (行人), an archer (弓), a crossbowman (弩), two dagger soldiers (刀), four swordsmen (劍), four knights (騎). The names of the general vary according to the kingdom it represents. The seven kingdoms are:
- Qin (秦), the white kingdom, in the west
- Chu (楚), the red kingdom, in the south
- Han (韓), the orange kingdom, in the south
- Qi (齊), the blue kingdom, in the east
- Wei (魏), the green kingdom, in the east
- Zhao (趙), the purple kingdom, in the north
- Yan (燕), the black kingdom, in the north
The yellow piece in the center of the board is " the Emperor " (周) , which doesn't belong to anyone.
Basic Rules of Game Play
The game starts with Qin, the white kingdom, and then the order of play is counterclockwise.
The mechanism of the game is similar to many chess variants. Pieces move and may capture one another by displacement. Except for cannon and go-between, all pieces capture in same way they move. There is no check in this game (which means it's not mandatory to get rid of attack on the general).
Moves of Pieces
Note pieces are placed at intersections.
| Piece | Diagram | Description | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| General 将 |
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The general moves any distance orthogonally or diagonally. (as chess queen) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chancellor 偏 |
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The chancellor moves any distance orthogonally. (as chess rook) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Diplomat 裨 |
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The diplomat moves any distance diagonally. (as chess bishop) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cannon 砲 |
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The cannon moves any distance orthogonally without capturing. To capture it jumps exactly one piece in its way.(as Xiangqi cannon) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Go-between 行人 |
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The go-between moves any distance orthogonally or diagonally. It cannot capture nor can it be captured. Thus it's used to defend or for cannon to jump. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dagger Soldier 刀 |
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The dagger soldier moves one intersection diagonally. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Swordsman 劍 |
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The Swordsman moves one intersection orthogonally. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Archer 弓 |
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The archer moves up to four intersections orthogonally or diagonally. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Crossbowman 弩 |
|
The crossbowman moves up to five intersections orthogonally or diagonally. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Knight 騎 |
|
The knight moves one intersection othogonally first, and then continues one up to three intersections diagonally outward. It can be blocked like Xiangqi knight. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Emperor 周 |
|
The Emperor does not move and can't be captured. |
Victory
A player is out when he loses his general or more than 10 pieces. The player who captures the general or the most pieces of the loser wins his rest army. The final victory goes to the first player who wins two kingdoms or captures more than 30 pieces.
See also
References
- Pritchard (1994), p. 265
- "The imbalance in the array must reflect on the play (assuming that the game was ever played), and can perhaps be attributed to the fact that a weiqi board rather than a bespoke board was used. The existence of pieces moving as Q and B at least two centuries before their introduction into orthochess is a phenomenon few will credit. (Leventhal, Chess of China)" (Pritchard 2007:343) [But note that the queen and bishop were already present in Japan in the game of dai shogi, invented in the 13th century and the most prestigious form of chess at the time in Japan.]
- Sima Guang(司馬光). 古局象棋圖.
- "七國象棋局（光緒觀古堂本） 第2頁 (圖書館) - 中國哲學書電子化計劃".
Bibliography
- Leary, Stephen (2001-09-29) [Created 1996-01-01]. "Qiquo Xiangqi: Chinese Chess with seven players". The Chess Variant Pages.
- Pritchard, D. B. (1994). "Seven-Handed Xiangqi". The Encyclopedia of Chess Variants. Games & Puzzles Publications. ISBN 0-9524142-0-1.
- Pritchard, D. B. (2007). "Seven-Handed Xiangqi". In Beasley, John (ed.). The Classified Encyclopedia of Chess Variants. John Beasley. pp. 342–43. ISBN 978-0-9555168-0-1.