Jungle
Play Animal Chess against the computer: rank your beasts, cross the river, storm the den.
How to play Jungle
You are the bottom side and move first. Click an animal to see its moves, then click a highlighted square. Animals are ranked Elephant 8 down to Rat 1; a piece captures an adjacent enemy of equal or lower rank, except the Rat, which alone can take the Elephant. Only the Rat may swim in the river; Lions and Tigers leap across it unless a Rat sits in the water. An enemy standing in one of your traps can be taken by any of your pieces. Win by moving a piece into the enemy den (you may never enter your own), or by capturing every enemy animal. Tap the 2P button to play a friend.
The Rat beats the Elephant
That single fact tells you most of what makes Jungle tick. Your animals are ranked from the Elephant at 8 down to the Rat at 1, and normally a piece can only capture an adjacent enemy of equal or lower rank. The Rat is the exception that keeps the game honest: the smallest animal is the only one that can capture the mighty Elephant, so nothing on the board is ever truly untouchable. In between sit the Lion at 7, Tiger at 6, Leopard at 5, Wolf at 4, Dog at 3 and Cat at 2, each slotting into the pecking order. Play becomes a set of matchups where rank matters, but position matters more. An Elephant in the wrong corner is scenery. A Cat standing next to your trap is a landmine.
Whoever understands the river wins
The river across the middle of the board is the game's second big idea. Only the Rat may swim into it, and Lions and Tigers can leap clear over the water in a straight jump. That leap is blocked the moment a Rat sits in the river on the jumping line, and this is where the Rat earns its keep twice over. Parked in the water, it's a wall that slows the enemy's two fastest attackers from crossing on that side, and it's completely safe from everything except the enemy Rat, since no other animal can enter the water to take it. The Lions and Tigers themselves are your cavalry: their river leaps let them switch flanks in a move or two while ground animals plod around, so an attack on one wing can become an attack on the other before the defence catches up.
How to press an advantage
- Guard your den. The enemy wins the instant any animal steps into it, so always keep a defender within reach of a runner, and remember you can never enter your own den to block it.
- Bait the traps. An enemy standing on one of your trap squares loses its rank and can be captured by any piece you own. A classic trick: retreat a weak piece, like the Cat, to a square beside your trap. A stronger animal that chases it onto the trap square gets eaten by the very piece it was hunting.
- Spend the Rat wisely. It's a river blocker, an Elephant hunter and an infiltrator all at once, but it's fragile, so don't trade it away for nothing.
- Watch the Elephant standoff. When Elephant and Rat stand next to each other, either can capture the other, so it comes down to whose turn it is. Keep a mid-rank escort near your Elephant so the enemy Rat never gets a free approach.
How games are actually decided
Most beginner games end in a den rush, and most of those rushes succeed because the defender got greedy. Captures feel like progress, but Jungle is a race, not a shootout: the win condition is a single step into the enemy den, and a Lion that spent three turns winning a trade is three turns behind the runner heading the other way. Count tempo the way you'd count material in chess. Before chasing anything, ask how many moves the fastest enemy piece needs to reach your den, and make sure your defence answers inside that number. Winning by capturing every enemy animal does happen, but it's the slow road, usually against an opponent who's already lost the race. When in doubt, ask which side's runner is closer to a den, and play as if that clock is the only one that matters, because it usually is.
Animal Chess
Jungle goes by several names: Dou Shou Qi in Chinese, roughly meaning animal fighting chess, or simply Animal Chess. It's a traditional Chinese game, hugely popular with children there, often the first strategy board game a kid learns before graduating to xiangqi. Some game historians also point to it as a likely influence on the twentieth-century Western game L'Attaque, the ancestor of Stratego, which borrowed the idea of ranked pieces beating lower ranks. You play the bottom side and move first: click an animal to see its legal moves, then click a highlighted square. Win by marching any piece into the enemy den or by capturing every animal they have, and tap 2P to play a friend on the same screen.
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Jungle: frequently asked questions
Why can the Rat beat the Elephant?
It is the signature rule of Dou Shou Qi: the tiny Rat (rank 1) is the only piece that can capture the mighty Elephant (rank 8). The Elephant, in turn, can never capture the Rat.
How do the river, traps, and dens work?
Only the Rat may enter the river squares. Lions and Tigers jump straight across the river to the far bank, but a Rat sitting in the water blocks the leap. Any enemy piece standing in one of your traps drops to rank 0, so any of your pieces can capture it. Reach the enemy den to win; you can never move into your own den.
Can I play against another person?
Yes. Tap the 2P button to switch to local pass-and-play on one device, and tap it again to return to the computer opponent.
How can the Rat beat the Elephant?
It's a special rule that keeps the game balanced. The Elephant is the highest rank and captures anything, but the tiny Rat is the one piece allowed to capture the Elephant, so the biggest animal always has something to fear.
Which pieces can deal with the river?
Only the Rat may actually swim in the river. Lions and Tigers can leap straight across it in a single jump, but that jump is blocked if a Rat is sitting in the water along their path.
What do the traps do?
The trap squares surround each den. An enemy piece standing on one of your traps loses its rank for as long as it stays there, so any of your pieces can capture it, even a low-ranked one taking a high-ranked animal.
How do you win a game of Jungle?
Move any one of your animals into the enemy's den, or capture every enemy piece on the board. Note you can never enter your own den, so it can't be used as a hiding square.
Which animals rank where?
From strongest to weakest: Elephant, Lion, Tiger, Leopard, Wolf, Dog, Cat, Rat. A piece captures an adjacent enemy of equal or lower rank, with the Rat-beats-Elephant rule as the one exception.
Is Jungle related to Stratego?
Probably. Jungle, called Dou Shou Qi in China, is a traditional game there, and several game historians think it influenced the French game L'Attaque in the early twentieth century, which later became Stratego. The shared idea is ranked pieces where higher ranks capture lower ones.
Is Jungle free to play?
Yes. Jungle is completely free on Inkplay, with no download, no sign-up, and no in-game purchases. Open the page and play instantly on desktop or mobile.
Can I play Jungle unblocked?
Yes. Jungle runs entirely in your browser with no download, install, or plugins, so it loads instantly and keeps working even on school or work networks where bigger game sites get blocked.
More games to play
In the mood for more? Try Chess, Tic Tac Toe, Connect Four, Reversi, or browse all board games and the full games list on Inkplay. Jungle also appears in 2 Player Games.