Chinese chess is the world’s most popular board game. Chinese chess, also known as xiangqi, has been played throughout East Asia for over 1000 years. The playing pieces have traditionally been identified using Chinese characters, so only those who could read Chinese characters could play. Now Chinese chess is available in a set (below left) in which the pieces
are identified by symbols on one side and Chinese characters on the reverse side so that anyone can enjoy this challenging strategy game. Shogi, (below right) is the Japanese chess variant. It is unique in that most pieces can be promoted and captured pieces can be replayed. Photos show the internationalized versions. Playing pieces are double sided; promoted pieces are indicated by red (on the reverse sides). A stereoscopic version of xiangqi using a Westernized board will soon be available.
