Banqi (1970)

Banqi, or Half Chess, is a two-player Chinese board game played on a 4x8 grid (usually half of the Chinese Chess board). Banqi is a social game, usually played for fun rather than serious competition. Because it has a significant element of chance, some people consider it a child's game, but Banqi often has remarkable depth of strategy.

The 32 pieces are shuffled and randomly allocated face-down to squares on the board. The first player turns up a piece to begin the game. The color of the piece he turns up is the color he will play in the game. The second player then makes a move, and the two alternate until the game is finished.

The game ends when a player cannot move; the player who cannot move loses. Most often, the game is lost because all of a player’s pieces have been captured and so he has no pieces to move. However, it is possible for one player to surround all of the other player’s pieces in a manner that makes it impossible for them to move.

This Japanese website has some information and pictures about the game.