Janggi is Korean chess, a close cousin of Chinese Xiangqi played on the intersections of a 9×10 board. It shares the river-kingdom layout but adds its own flavour: there is no central river barrier, the palace is criss-crossed by diagonal lines that several pieces can ride, and the general (called Cho for the blue south side and Han for the red north) sits one step inside the palace rather than on the back rank.
Horses and elephants move in stepped paths that can be blocked at the leg, and the cannon is unique — it must hop exactly one non-cannon screen to move or capture and can never take another cannon. Play free online Janggi in your browser as the blue Cho side against three levels of AI, with no download required.
Janggi arrived on the Korean peninsula from China's xiangqi many centuries ago — by most accounts during or before the Goryeo dynasty — and then evolved firmly in its own direction. Korea dropped the river, freed the elephants to roam the whole board, gave players a pre-game choice of horse-and-elephant arrangement, and even allows passing a turn. The two sides are named for the rival kingdoms of Cho and Han, an echo of the ancient Chu–Han war that also frames xiangqi.
In modern South Korea janggi remains a living tradition, played in parks and contested in televised professional leagues under rules designed to discourage draws. For newcomers from Western chess, the biggest adjustments are the palace diagonals — which turn the nine central points into a fortress crisscrossed with attack lines — and the hopping cannon, which is most dangerous the moment you stop watching it.
Checkmate the opposing general so it cannot avoid capture, or leave the opponent with no legal move. Keep your own general safe inside its palace.
Tap one of your blue pieces to highlight its legal moves, then tap a point to move or capture. Indigo dots are empty destinations and red discs mark captures. A CHECK warning appears whenever a general is under attack.
There is no running score — the game is decided by checkmate or stalemate. Use the palace diagonals: pieces standing on a marked palace point may slide along the diagonal lines.
Set up a cannon with a reliable screen in front of it and it becomes your most feared attacker. Coordinate your two chariots on open files, and use advisors plus the diagonal palace lines to build an airtight defence around your general.
How is Janggi different from Chinese chess (xiangqi)?
No river divides the board, elephants move differently and cross freely, the generals start inside the palace, and janggi cannons need a screen for every move — and can never capture another cannon.
How does the cannon move in Janggi?
It slides in a straight line but must hop over exactly one intervening piece — a screen — both to move and to capture. The screen cannot be another cannon, and a cannon can never take an enemy cannon.
How do you win Janggi?
Checkmate the enemy general so it cannot escape capture, or leave your opponent without a legal move — all while keeping your own general safe inside its nine-point palace.
More classic games: Xiangqi, Chess, Shogi, Go, Checkers, and all 100 free games.