About Hidden Front

Hidden Front is a free browser version of Junqi (军棋), a Chinese board game with hidden ranks.

Play in your browser

Traditional hidden-rank Junqi uses a referee to compare pieces and announce combat results. Hidden Front handles that role: it keeps enemy ranks hidden and shows both players the result. You can play with another person or practice against the computer.

There is nothing to install. Casual matches do not require an account; ranked matches require Google sign-in. Find an opponent through Quick match or invite a friend with a link.

Who

Hidden Front is built by a small independent team: one developer, who writes the rules engine, the computer opponent, the server and the interface, and one designer, who is responsible for how the game looks, moves and sounds. We are not a company and we do not have investors.

How it is built

A few things we are particular about:

• One rules engine. The same code that validates a move in your browser runs on the game server. There is no second implementation to drift out of sync, and the rules you can read on this site are the rules the game enforces.
• The server is the referee. In an online game, the server holds the full board and sends each seat its own pieces and masked enemy pieces. Enemy ranks are sent to your browser only after the game ends.
• Combat shows the outcome. During play, combat animations and sounds show the result without revealing enemy ranks.
• Practice on the game board. The lessons and puzzles use the same board, pieces and engine as a real game, so what you practise is exactly what you will play.
• As little data as possible. Settings and progress live in your browser. The server keeps what a game needs for as long as it is running and deletes it a week later. Signing in with Google is optional and asks for nothing but an anonymous identifier.

The game is served from Cloudflare's network, with each online room running as its own small stateful process close to the players.

Fair play

Hidden Front has no free-text chat. Players communicate with emotes and a shared pointer. Nicknames are screened, and any player can be blocked or reported from the game menu. Ranked games use a clock, count timeouts, and treat leaving as a loss.

Where it is going

The game launched in September 2026. Ranked seasons run by calendar quarter, with season one starting on 1 January 2027. We are working on seasonal badges, a better way to study your own games, and more written material on strategy. Suggestions are welcome.

Contact

Open the main menu and choose Send feedback. You can report bugs, ask about rules, suggest translation fixes or share ideas without signing in. For matters concerning your data, see the privacy policy; for the terms under which the game is offered, see the terms of service.