Watermelon Chess

Opening Position

Alternate Names

西瓜棋, Xī Guā Qí́, or Xi Gua Qi, Watermelon Game, Surround Game, Globe. The board is said to resemble a watermelon. Watermelon Chess is not related to Chess even though the word Chess appears in its name.

No. of Players

Two

Equipment

Watermelon Chess utilizes a board nearly identical to the board used to play both Sz’kwa and, probably by coincidence, one version of the Roman Bear Games. The Roman Bear Game is significantly different as it is a hunt game commencing with unequal forces in opposition. Six each of black and white counters are also required for play.

History

Watermelon Chess is a traditional folk game from Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China and is typically played by children.

Objective

The objective for both players is to reduce their opponent to two counters, the first player to do so being the winner. Alternatively, it can be said that the objective of the game is to reduce the opponent to one counter, but it is no longer possible to capture opposing counters with less than three counters, making the game effectively over at that point.

Play

The board is setup as shown above. One player controls the white counters while the other controls the black and counters are played at the twenty-one intersections of the board. Alternate turns entail the movement of one friendly counter along a line to an adjacent and vacant intersection. Counters are captured and removed from the board when completely surrounded by opposing counters. Only one opposing counter can be captured per turn.

Strategy

Counters at some positions on the board can be captured by three opposing counters, whereas some other positions require four opposing counters to be captured.

Sources