regardless of rank difference if it is beside the trapped animal. The rules for being on one's own trap do vary. A variant has the wolf replaced by the fox, in which case the dog is stronger than the fox. There are variations in which the lion is not able to jump across the river horizontally. The rules for the rat to capture either the elephant or rat from or into the water do vary. There is a simplified version called Animal Checkers, which has no traps or rivers, and only the rat, dog, tiger and elephant. Amongst the many examples shown on BoardGameGeek there is at least one where the pieces are designed so that they are no longer visible by the opponent (mounted as a card on a stand like Stratego pieces). This change alters the game from one of stochastic 'full-knowledge' to one of partial-knowledge. There is a version of the game that limits which animals (rankings 1–4) can move onto the trap squares. Some players prefer allowing the dog to move onto water squares. See also Jun Qi Chinese chess References Bibliography Further reading External links Dou Shou Qi: The Battle of Animals by Hans Bodlaender, The Chess Variant Pages Ancient Chess.com rules and video demonstration Games related to chaturanga Children's board games Abstract strategy games Chinese games Chinese words and phrases Traditional board games Games like Stratego