Animal Chess
The Chinese game of fighting animals: rat beats elephant, lions leap rivers, and the first into the enemy den wins.
Animal Chess, called Dou Shou Qi in China and also known as Jungle, is a board game for two on a field of seven by nine squares with two rivers in the middle, a den at each end and three traps around each den. Each side has eight animals, ranked from the elephant down to the rat, and a stronger animal takes a weaker one. The rat is the exception that makes the game: it alone can swim, and it alone can take the elephant. Lions and tigers leap across the rivers, unless a rat swims in their way. Walk any animal into the enemy den to win. Play an easy, medium or hard computer, and every day brings a Daily game that is the same for everyone.
- Category
- Cards & Board
- Modes
- Easy · Medium · Hard · Daily
- Controls
- Mouse · Touch · Keyboard
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How to play
You play the blue animals at the bottom and move first; the computer plays red. On your turn, move one animal one square up, down, left or right, never diagonally. An animal may take an enemy animal of the same rank or lower by moving onto it: elephant 8, lion 7, tiger 6, leopard 5, wolf 4, dog 3, cat 2, rat 1, as the badge on each animal shows. The rat may take the elephant, and the elephant may never take the rat. Only the rat may enter the water, and a rat in the water cannot take an animal on land, nor be taken from land. The lion and the tiger may jump straight across a river, up and down or sideways, unless a rat is in the water on the way, and may take an animal where they land. Around each den lie three traps: an animal in one of the enemy's traps counts as rank 0, so any animal may take it and it can take nothing. You may never enter your own den. You win by walking an animal into the computer's den, by taking all its animals, or when it has no move left. If 80 moves in a row, yours and the computer's together, pass without a capture, the game is a draw. Tap an animal to see where it can go, then tap a lit square. A win scores 100 plus five points for each of your animals still on the board, a draw 50, and a loss three points for each animal you took.
What is Animal Chess?
Animal Chess is a board game for two from China, where it is called Dou Shou Qi, "the game of fighting animals". In English it is also known as Jungle, the Jungle Game or Children's Chess. Its origins are unclear: it seems to have taken its present form in China around the beginning of the twentieth century, and it is especially popular with children. Two armies of eight animals, ranked from the elephant down to the rat, meet on a meadow crossed by two rivers, and each side tries to walk one animal into the other's den.
Here you play the blue animals against the computer: an easy, medium or hard computer, and a Daily game that is the same for everyone.
How to play
- The board. Seven columns by nine rows of squares. In the middle lie two rivers of six water squares each, with land between them and along both edges. In the middle of each back row is a den, and three traps surround each den, one on each side and one in front.
- The animals. Each side has eight: elephant 8, lion 7, tiger 6, leopard 5, wolf 4, dog 3, cat 2 and rat 1. The badge on each medallion shows its rank. You play blue at the bottom and move first.
- Moving. On your turn, move one animal one square up, down, left or right. There are no diagonal moves, and you may never enter your own den.
- Taking. An animal takes an enemy animal of the same rank or lower by moving onto its square. The one exception: the rat may take the elephant, and the elephant may never take the rat.
- The water. Only the rat may swim. A rat in the water cannot take an animal on land, and no animal on land can take a rat in the water; one rat in the water may take another.
- Jumps. The lion and the tiger may jump straight across a river, along its length or across its width, to the land on the other side, and take an animal there if its rank allows. A rat in the water anywhere on the way blocks the jump.
- Traps. An animal standing in one of the enemy's traps has rank 0 there: any enemy animal may take it, and it cannot take anything until it moves off. Your own traps do you no harm.
- Winning. Walk any animal into the computer's den, take all of its animals, or leave it with no move at all.
- Draw. The traditional rules have no draw, so a stuck game could go on forever. Here, if 80 moves in a row, yours and the computer's together, pass without a capture, the game is a draw.
- Score. A win scores 100 plus five points for each of your animals still on the board. A draw scores 50, and a loss three points for each animal you took.
Strategy tips
- Guard the den with something. The only way into a den is through its traps, and an animal in your trap is rank 0. Keep one or two animals near home and any intruder can be taken, even the elephant by your cat.
- Keep your rat alive. It is the only animal that can take the elephant, and while it swims it blocks the lion's and tiger's jumps. A rat in the river is also safe from everything on land.
- Watch the river for jumps. A lion or tiger on the bank can land on the far side in one move. Before you leave an animal on the far bank, check that no big cat can leap onto it.
- Trade when you are ahead. Equal ranks take each other. Swapping animals of the same rank helps the side with more strength left, and opens lanes to the den.
- Attack on two sides. One raider is easy to catch at the traps. Two threats at once, on either side of the den, are much harder to answer.
- Do not chase the elephant with the rat on open land. Every animal from the cat up takes the rat. Bring it up along the river and strike when the elephant is next to it.
FAQ
Is Animal Chess free to play?
Yes. Like every game on Play, it runs free in your browser, with no download and no account needed.
Is it the same game as Jungle or Dou Shou Qi?
Yes. Jungle, the Jungle Game, Dou Shou Qi and Animal Chess are names for the same game. Small details of the rules differ between rule sets; the ones used here are listed in How to play.
Why can the rat take the elephant?
It is the old idea of the smallest creature defeating the largest, and it is what makes the game: the elephant is the strongest animal on the board, but it can never take the rat, and it must keep away from it.
Can the tiger jump sideways too?
Yes. Here both the lion and the tiger jump the rivers up and down and sideways. Some rule sets allow the tiger only the long jump.
What happens in a trap?
An enemy animal in one of your traps counts as rank 0: any of your animals can take it, and it cannot take anything while it stands there. Since every way into your den passes a trap, a single guard nearby is often enough.
What is the Daily game?
Every day everyone plays the medium computer, and the computer answers the same moves the same way for everyone that day, so the scores compare directly on the leaderboard.
