How to play Janggi well
한국어Every piece in Janggi moves differently, so the game is decided by keeping the strong pieces alive and opening the way for the weak ones.
Chariots and cannons rule the board
The chariot slides far along files and ranks, and the cannon jumps over one piece to hit something far away. These two are the strongest pieces, so the first step is to keep their lines open and never lose them carelessly. In particular, do not trade a chariot for a cheap piece.
A cannon needs a screen
A cannon moves only when there is exactly one piece to jump over (the screen) between it and its target. With no screen a cannon can do nothing. That is why it matters to place one of your own pieces in front of the cannon to give it a screen. Note that a cannon cannot jump over or capture another cannon, so an enemy cannon can never be your screen.
Do not block your horses and elephants
A horse goes one step straight and then diagonally, and an elephant goes one step further than that. But if a piece stands on the way, they are blocked and cannot go. Open up the squares they need in advance, so you do not block your own horses and elephants with your own pieces.
Protect your general
This board has no checkmate. Nobody calls check, so you may play with your general exposed, but if the opponent actually captures it you lose on the spot. So surround the palace firmly with guards, and watch that no line opens for the opponent's chariots and cannons to hit your general. This follows the original rules of our augmented chess as they are.
Greed loses
If you chase only the piece in front of you, you fall into the bigger picture the opponent has set up behind it. We measured this in our own simulation. We matched a side that only takes the immediate gain against a side that reads a few moves ahead, and the side that only takes the immediate gain lost by a wide margin. Before you capture, look once more at what the opponent can do from that square.
How to choose the day's rule
Three of the 4 candidate rules are drawn for the day, and you ban one and pick one. The rules differ quite a lot from each other.
- Cannon over cannon Today a cannon can jump over another cannon and capture it.
- Soldiers step back Today soldiers can also move one step backward.
- Free horse Today the horse can leap even when its path is blocked.
- Free elephant Today the elephant can leap even when its path is blocked.
Think about the ban first. Banning the one that is worst for you is worth more than picking. For example, Cannon over cannon sharpens a board where cannons are already strong, so if your cannon defense is weak, it is better to ban it first.
The same day is the same board
There is no randomness. The candidates are set by the date, and the opponent always plays the same moves on the same board. So if you replay a lost game you can see exactly where it turned. A loss is not bad luck but the wrong order of moves, so memorizing it makes you better.
About the name of this game
Janggi is an old traditional game shared by everyone and does not belong to any company. Anyone can make one in this form. Only the day's rule we lay on top is ours, and it was not copied from someone else's game but written by us.