Pocket Chinese Chess

Match wits across the river! 6 CPU levels from Beginner to Insane, pass-and-play with friends, and a built-in Learn mode that teaches every piece in minutes.

Pocket Chess is a cute, pocket-sized take on Xiangqi — the classic Chinese chess loved by millions for over a thousand years. Whether you're a complete beginner or a seasoned general, there's a battle here for you. Tap to march your soldiers, leap your horses, and fire your cannons over screens of pieces. Trap the enemy general before they trap yours. It's the same deep strategy your grandparents grew up on, dressed up in a friendly, colorful style and tuned for one-handed play on your phone.

WHY YOU'LL LOVE IT • Six CPU difficulties — Beginner, Easy, Normal, Hard, Expert, and Insane. The Beginner bot is gentle enough for kids and first-timers. Expert plays a strong, deep search with quiescence. Insane spots you a piece — and still fights back.

• Pass-and-play — share your phone with a friend or family member. Optional auto-rotate flips the board so each side always sees their pieces at the bottom.

• Learn mode — a friendly tour of every piece, the river, the palace, and the rules that surprise beginners (flying generals, cannon screens, soldier promotion). Built for total newcomers.

• Optional hints — flick on a hint toggle when you're learning, flick it off when you're ready to fight clean.

• Take-backs your way — choose whether reversals are allowed at the start of each game. Great for teaching, off-limits for serious matches.

• Resume anytime — life interrupts. Pocket Chess saves the game you're in and lets you pick it back up later, even after a CPU handicap.

• Profile & milestones — track your wins, including the special Insane-mode handicap victories.

• Portrait, one-handed, offline — no Wi-Fi needed. Designed to play on the bus, in line, or under the covers.

• Cute by design — warm parchment board, hand-drawn pieces, and chunky, readable type. Equally at home for ages 6 and 60.

ABOUT XIANGQI

Xiangqi (象棋, "elephant chess") is played on a 9×10 board split by a river. Each side starts with a General, two Advisors, two Elephants, two Horses, two Chariots, two Cannons, and five Soldiers. Cannons must jump a single piece to capture. Elephants can't cross the river. Generals are pinned to their three-by-three palace and can never face each other on an open file. The game ends with checkmate — or with the side to move running out of legal options, which is a loss (not a draw, as in Western chess).

If any of that is new to you, don't worry. The Learn screen walks through it all, and the Beginner CPU is patient.

FREE TO PLAY

Pocket Chess is free, supported by an occasional full-screen ad between games. No subscriptions, no power-ups, no nagging. Just chess.