Luzhanqi vs Computer

How to play Luzhanqi (Land Battle Chess / 陆战棋)

Luzhanqi (军棋, "army chess", also called Land Battle Chess) is one of the most popular board games in China, a military cousin of Stratego played on a battlefield of roads, railroads, fortified camps and two headquarters per army. Each player commands 25 pieces — from the mighty Field Marshal down to the humble Engineer, plus landmines, bombs and the all-important flag — and tries to capture the enemy flag. This app plays the OPEN version (明棋), where both armies are fully visible: the classic hidden version (暗棋) needs a neutral referee to judge each battle, which is impossible on one shared screen. Play a friend on the same device, or take on the computer at three difficulty levels and earn ranking points for every win.

The goal

Capture the enemy flag (军旗) by moving any of your pieces onto it, or leave your opponent with nothing that can move. Your own flag never moves and must start inside one of your two headquarters, so the whole game revolves around breaking through the enemy defence while keeping your own back rows safe.

The battlefield

The board is 5 columns wide and 12 rows tall — six rows per army, separated by the frontline. Thin lines are ordinary roads; the thick golden lines are railroads, which run along each side's second row, along both front rows, down both outer columns and through the centre crossing. Only three passes cross the frontline (left, centre, right — all railroads); the other two gaps are impassable mountains. Each half also contains five camps (the circles) — safe havens where a piece can never be attacked — and two headquarters (the shields) on the back row where the flag lives.

The 25 pieces and their ranks

Each army fields: 1 Field Marshal (司令), 1 General (军长), 2 Major Generals (师长), 2 Brigadiers (旅长), 2 Colonels (团长), 2 Majors (营长), 3 Captains (连长), 3 Lieutenants (排长), 3 Engineers (工兵), 3 Landmines (地雷), 2 Bombs (炸弹) and 1 Flag (军旗). The fighting ranks run 司令 > 军长 > 师长 > 旅长 > 团长 > 营长 > 连长 > 排长 > 工兵 — a higher rank always defeats a lower one. Mines, bombs and the flag have no rank and follow special rules. Every tile also shows a small number (9 = strongest, 1 = Engineer) so you can compare ranks at a glance.

Rules of play

• Red moves first, then the players alternate, moving exactly one piece per turn one step along any line — including the short diagonal roads that surround each camp.
• Railroad ride: a piece standing on a railroad may travel any number of stations in a straight line along the rails, as long as every station it passes through is empty. It may stop early, and its ride ends where the track bends.
• The Engineer (工兵) is the only piece that may TURN at railroad junctions: it can reach any station connected to it by a clear railroad path, however winding.
• Attack by moving onto an enemy piece. The lower rank is removed; if the ranks are EQUAL, both pieces are removed. Attacking a stronger piece is legal — your piece simply dies — but in the open game you can always see what you are up against.
• The Bomb (炸弹) destroys itself and whatever it fights, no matter the rank — attacker or defender, both always die. It is the perfect answer to the enemy Field Marshal.
• The Landmine (地雷) never moves. Only the Engineer can clear it (the mine is removed, the Engineer survives); any other piece that steps on it is destroyed while the mine remains. A Bomb trades itself for a mine.
• Camps (the circles) are safe: a piece standing in a camp can never be attacked, and only one piece fits inside. A piece in a camp may still attack outwards.
• The two headquarters (the shields) hold your flag and one other piece at the start. Any piece standing on a headquarters square — yours or the enemy's — can never move again, so the piece you place beside your flag is a permanent gate guard.
• The Flag (军旗) never moves. Capture the enemy flag and you win instantly; lose all pieces that can still move and you lose.

Setting up: formations

Before the battle each player arranges their 25 pieces on the 25 free squares of their half (camps start empty). Choose one of three sensible preset formations — Iron Wall (flag boxed in by mines), Rail Raiders (engineers poised on the railroads) or Centre Push (heavy ranks down the middle) — then fine-tune it freely: tap two of your pieces to swap them. The editor enforces the classic placement laws: the flag must be in a headquarters, mines only on your back two rows, and bombs anywhere except the front row. The Start button unlocks only when your layout is legal.

Winning the game

There are two roads to victory: move any piece onto the enemy flag, or reduce the opponent to pieces that cannot move (only mines, the flag and frozen headquarters pieces left, or every mobile piece blocked). Because mines guard the flag and camps offer shelter, most games are decided by whether your Engineers and Bombs can dismantle the mine wall before your own falls. In the two-player game an Undo button takes back the last move if a finger slips.

Open version (明棋) and rule choices

Traditional Luzhanqi is usually played hidden (暗棋), with pieces standing up like Stratego and a third person acting as referee to announce who wins each fight without revealing the ranks. On a single shared screen there is no referee and no way to hide the pieces, so this app implements the open game (明棋), a widely played variant where both armies are visible and the contest becomes pure strategy. Other rule choices used here, each a common standard: a piece that enters ANY headquarters is frozen there forever; a Bomb that hits a mine destroys both; the "reveal the flag when the Field Marshal dies" rule is skipped because everything is already visible; and there is no automatic draw rule — if a position goes nowhere, agree to start a new game.

Playing the computer (ranked)

In "Luzhanqi vs Computer" you choose your army, a difficulty and your formation; the computer secretly picks its own. Easy plays loosely and blunders on purpose, Normal looks ahead and punishes mistakes, and Expert searches deeper — it values material by rank, keeps its mine shield intact and presses toward your flag. The computer thinks entirely on your device, so it works offline. Beat it to earn ranking points — Easy +10, Normal +30, Expert +100 — and sign in to put your best result on the leaderboard.

Strategy tips

• Rule the railroads. A piece on a rail line crosses the board in one turn, so control of the outer columns decides who can reinforce faster. Engineers are the kings of the rails — they alone can turn corners.
• Protect your Engineers and hunt the enemy's. In the open game everyone can see where the mines are, but only Engineers can remove them — lose all three and the enemy mine wall becomes almost impassable, leaving your Bombs as the only keys.
• Spend Bombs on the biggest targets. A Bomb trades one-for-one with anything, so save them for the Field Marshal, the General, or a mine that blocks the path to the flag — never waste one on a Captain.
• Use camps as stepping stones. A piece in a camp cannot be attacked, so advance through the enemy half camp-by-camp, forcing the defender to commit pieces while yours sit safe.
• Mind the frontline geometry. Only three passes cross the middle, and the two flanks are railroads — whoever parks a strong piece on a pass chokes the enemy's whole advance. Equal-rank trades help the side that is already ahead in material.

Frequently asked questions