Application Description

Makruk, also known as Thai chess, is a traditional strategy board game akin to chess, but with unique rules and pieces. Played on an 8x8 board, it features familiar pieces like the king and queen, alongside unique pieces with distinct movements. The goal, as in chess, is to checkmate the opponent's king. Makruk demands significant tactical skill and strategic foresight, contributing to its enduring popularity in Thailand.

Key Features of Makruk:

• AI Opponents: Challenge yourself against AI opponents with varying skill levels, from beginner to expert.
• Daily Challenges: Sharpen your skills with a new challenge each day.
• Global Leaderboard: Compete against players worldwide and climb the global rankings.
• Game Sharing: Share your masterful moves with friends and family.
• Undo & Save/Load: Undo mistakes and save your game progress for later continuation.
• Timed Gameplay: Add an extra layer of excitement with timed matches.

Makruk (Thai: หมากรุก; rtgs: Mak Ruk;), or Thai chess, is a board game tracing its lineage back to the 6th-century Indian game of chaturanga, making it a relative of modern chess. It's considered the closest surviving relative to the common ancestor of all chess variants.

While approximately two million Thais can play Makruk, only around 5000 play international chess.

Former world chess champion Vladimir Kramnik has noted Makruk's greater strategic depth compared to international chess. The game requires meticulous planning as it presents a challenge similar to a complex endgame in international chess.

Rules Summary

The rules for each piece differ slightly from standard chess:

• Pawn (เบี้ย bia): Moves and captures one square forward, but unlike in chess, cannot move two squares on its first move and lacks the en passant capture. Reaching the sixth rank always results in promotion to a queen.
• Queen (เม็ด met): The weakest piece, moving only one square diagonally.
• Bishop (โคน khon): Moves one square diagonally or one square forward.
• Knight (ม้า ma): Moves like a knight in Western chess.
• Rook (เรือ ruea): Moves like a rook in Western chess.
• King (Ang): Moves like a king in international chess. Historically, a special "Ses" (knight jump) move was permitted on the king's first move, but this is no longer commonly used in Thailand. Checkmate ends the game.

What's New

Bug fixes implemented.

Card