Planned Release Date: Nov 30, 2026

About This Game

36 Stratagems. One very unfair chessboard.

Xiangqi Traveler is an HD-2D pixel skill-based Xiangqi × roguelite adventure. The board is the full nine-by-ten battlefield of Chinese chess, but the rules are yours to bend: the Stratagems you carry let you set pieces on fire, freeze them, turn them against their own side, sneak across the river or seize the host's seat. One move can set off a whole chain of effects.

Roll the dice, walk the road

• Pick one of six charming travelers, roll dice to move across the map, and fight your way through spring, summer, autumn and winter.
  
• Every fork offers a safe road or a risky one: minions, elites, wandering peddlers, teahouses, chess halls, random encounters and treasure chests. You choose the path.
  
• Stamina is your health. Every roll and every move costs some, and only victories win it back.

Every Stratagem breaks a rule

• 36 passive Stratagems, each named after one of China's classic Thirty-Six Stratagems, in four rarities: Common, Uncommon, Rare and Legendary.
  
• Some reshape the board at the start, some trigger when you move, and some chain off captures and checks. Effects that fire at the same moment resolve left to right, so the order you arrange them in is part of your build.
  
• Buy Stratagems from peddlers, upgrade them at chess halls, and sell old ones when your slots are full. You build your combo like a deck.
  
• 14 kinds of Tricks, from tea eggs to loaded dice to fortune sticks, usable both on the map and mid-game.

Elites bring stratagems, bosses bring endgames

• Minions are quick, move-limited skirmishes. Elites carry Stratagems of their own and brawl with you on a full board.
  
• Five bosses first duel you with Stratagems, then set up a series of linked classic endgame puzzles. Only a winning streak clears the stage.
  
• Pieces can burn, freeze, be poisoned or grow giant, and the Xiangqi AI understands every one of these states and will use them against you.

Regret Pills: use them wisely

• One Regret Pill undoes one move, in elite and boss fights alike. Each traveler carries a different number.
  
• Each of the six travelers has a signature perk: extra Tricks at the start, 20% off at peddlers, double bounties, an extra Stratagem slot... and one who carries no Regret Pills at all.

Need a break? Try these

• Six Xiangqi mini-games: Knight's Rampage, Mate in One, Flip & Match, Cannon Chain, Five in a Row and Pawn Flip. One minute per round.
  
• Endless Mode, unlocked from the start: descend floor by floor and see how far you get.
  
• Free Play against a Xiangqi AI with five difficulty levels, topped by "Hand of God".
  
• Cosmetics shop: 8 piece sets and 9 boards to swap at will.

Everyone trash-talks you

From the lowliest minion to the final boss, nobody holds their tongue: internet memes, bad jokes and passive-aggressive jabs. You'll still want another run.

Language

The game text is currently available in Simplified and Traditional Chinese only.

AI Generated Content Disclosure

The developers describe how their game uses AI Generated Content like this:

The store page text and parts of the in-game writing were drafted with the help of generative AI, then reviewed and edited by the developer. The game does not generate any AI content while you play.