Traditional Chinese Board Games

Traditional Board Games pages currently focus on Dou Shou Qi with dens, traps, rivers, and ranked animal pieces. Setup must be read spatially because board zones change what a strong or weak animal can do.

The common goal is to enter the opponent's den or build an unstoppable den route under the trap, river, and rank rules. A record note should not reduce the game to raw animal strength.

Animals usually move one orthogonal step, while special river and rank interactions change what can cross, capture, or be weakened by a trap. The rat exception and trap squares matter in records.

Players alternate one animal move at a time. A record fragment should preserve which animal moved, from which coordinate, and whether the reply uses a trap, river, or den threat.

Piece-coordinate notation such as Rat E5-F6 ties the animal, square, and zone together. It is the bridge between the rule map and the route being taught.

The common trap is valuing a stronger animal without checking trap and den rules. A weaker piece in the right zone can change the record more than a high-rank animal in the wrong lane.

Traditional games often have local rule differences and non-federation sources. This site labels the source as a public rule reference and avoids claiming official tournament authority.

Beginner records show one rank or zone rule, intermediate records compare trap-route timing, and advanced records test whether den pressure survives a river or animal-rank reply.