Hidden Front: Junqi (军棋), played in your browser
Deduce hidden ranks. Capture the flag.
A two-player strategy board game with 25 pieces per side and hidden ranks. Use enemy moves and combat results to deduce the flag’s position. Play free in your browser with no install or sign-up.
What is Junqi?
Junqi (军棋), also called Luzhanqi (陸戰棋), is a board game from China. Each player sets up ranked pieces, bombs, landmines and a flag on their side. You can see where enemy pieces are, but their ranks stay hidden.
Among regular pieces, the higher rank wins and equal ranks are both removed. A bomb is removed along with its opponent. An Engineer clears a mine and survives; other pieces are removed with the mine. Enemy ranks stay hidden after combat.
In traditional Junqi, a referee announces combat results. In Hidden Front, the game judges combat and shows both players the same result.
How to play
Set up
Place the flag in headquarters and mines in the back two rows, outside headquarters. Bombs cannot go on the front row, and camps must stay empty. Your opponent cannot see your ranks.
Move
Move one piece per turn. Roads allow one step along a connection. Railways allow several steps in a straight line until blocked. Engineers can turn on railways.
Fight
Move onto an enemy piece to attack. Ranks and special-piece rules decide which pieces remain. Pieces in camps cannot be attacked.
Win
Capture the enemy flag, or leave your opponent with no piece that can move. Online games give 30 seconds per move, and 100 moves without a fight end in a draw.
What you can do on Hidden Front
Quick match
Join a waiting public room or open a new room to find an opponent.
Play the computer
Play solo on Easy, Medium or Hard.
Invite a friend
Play with a friend through an invite link, with no sign-up. After the match, review a replay with every piece revealed.
Learn on the board
Practice movement, combat, setup and deduction on the board through 8 lessons and 24 puzzles.
Mini games
A combat quiz, a hidden-piece deduction puzzle and a memory match. Quick ways to brush up on the rules.
Ranked seasons
Sign in with Google to play ranked matches. The leaderboard starts a new season every quarter.
The pieces at a glance
Each side has 25 pieces. Higher numbers beat lower ones, while the bomb, landmine and flag follow special rules of their own.
- 9
Field Marshal×1
The strongest regular piece. Both pieces are removed in combat with a Bomb.
- 8
General×1
Among regular pieces, only the Field Marshal beats it.
- 7
Major General×2
Loses to the Field Marshal and General. Beats regular pieces ranked 6 or lower.
- 6
Brigadier×2
Beats regular pieces ranked 5 or lower. Loses to ranks 7 and above.
- 5
Colonel×2
Beats regular pieces ranked 4 or lower. Loses to ranks 6 and above.
- 4
Major×2
Beats ranks 3 and below, loses to ranks 5 and above.
- 3
Captain×3
Three per side. Beats numbered pieces ranked 2 or lower.
- 2
Lieutenant×3
Among regular pieces, it beats only the Engineer.
- 1
Engineer×3
Can turn on railways. The only piece that can clear a Landmine and survive.
- B
Bomb×2
Both pieces are removed in any combat involving a bomb. Cannot start on the front row.
- L
Landmine×3
Cannot move. A Engineer removes only the mine; other attackers are removed with it. Place only in the back two rows, outside headquarters.
- F
Flag×1
Lose the Flag and you lose the game. It sits in one of your two headquarters and never moves.
Read more
Read the rules, setup strategies, deduction tips and history of Junqi.
The complete rules of Junqi
Every rule Hidden Front plays by, from setup and movement to combat, winning, draws and the online clock.
Reading the board
How roads, railways, the front line, camps and headquarters work, and how the terrain shapes every game of Junqi.
The twelve pieces and what each one is for
A guide to every Junqi piece, from Field Marshal to Flag, with its count, strengths, weaknesses and the job it does best.
Setup strategy
Where to put your flag, landmines, bombs, Field Marshal and Engineers, and the layouts that beginners should avoid.
Opening principles
What to do in the first ten moves of a Junqi game: probe cheaply, take the railways, protect your big pieces and read the first exchanges.
Working out hidden ranks
Use moves and combat results to narrow down enemy ranks, and keep observations separate from guesses.
The endgame
Finding the flag, clearing the mines, spending bombs wisely and avoiding the immobilisation loss in the final phase of a Junqi game.
A short history of Junqi
Where army chess came from, how it relates to L'Attaque and Stratego, the flip and dark variants, four-player Junqi, and how Hidden Front's rules fit in.
Frequently asked questions
Answers about playing Hidden Front: cost, accounts, inviting friends, phones, languages, disconnections, ranking seasons, fairness, safety and the project itself.
Glossary of Junqi terms
The vocabulary of Junqi and Hidden Front, from bomb and camp to station, trade and zugzwang, with the Chinese names for the pieces and terrain.
Free, no install, no sign-up
Play in a phone or desktop browser. Your nickname is assigned automatically and can be changed with a rename ticket. We do not ask for your real name, email or phone number. The game supports Korean, English, Simplified and Traditional Chinese, Japanese, Spanish and Portuguese.