Lagerland Lagerland

Honest guide · Updated October 2026 · Free options first

The best xiangqi apps for iPhone
for people who don't read Chinese (yet).

Search the App Store for "Chinese chess" and you get dozens of near-identical boards with near-identical names. This guide sorts out the handful worth installing: what each one is actually best at, which ones work in English, what's genuinely free, and how much the characters on the pieces really matter. One disclosure up front: Xiangqiful is our app — we'll say so every time it appears, and we'll tell you when something else is the better pick.

The short version

🏆 Best free all-rounder — Xiangqi.com
The English-language home of xiangqi: online games against people, computer bots, thousands of puzzles, lessons, tournaments and an International piece style. Free on iPhone, Android and the web, with an optional ad-free subscription. If you install one app, make it this one. App Store →
🎓 Best for learning & improving — Xiangqiful (ours)
Ten AI opponents, then Pikafish reviews every game on your device, grades every move and names each mistake in xiangqi terms — a screenless cannon, a trapped horse, a missed Iron Bolt mate. 902 mate problems, 150+ drills, 80 lessons. Offline, no account, no ads. Free; Premium from $1.99/mo, $19.99 lifetime. Full details →
🌐 Best free web platform — PyChess
The Lichess of chess variants: open-source, donation-funded, online xiangqi with Fairy-Stockfish analysis, puzzles and internationalized pieces. No native iOS app — you use it in the browser — but nothing free beats it for playing and analysing on the web. pychess.org →
📴 Best free offline opponent — Chinese Chess - Best XiangQi
Eight AI opponents, 600+ endgame puzzles, western or Hanzi pieces, hints and unlimited undo, with no in-app purchases. Its privacy label lists tracking identifiers for advertising, so expect the usual trade-off of a free app. App Store →

All seven, honestly compared

Summarised from each app's or site's public listing, checked 1 October 2026. Prices and features change — check the current listing before installing.

App Best at Offline Without reading Chinese Price
Xiangqi.comOnline play in English, plus bots, puzzles and lessonsPartly — offline mode vs computerYes — International piece styleFree; optional ad-free subscription
Xiangqiful (ours)Coaching: every game reviewed by Pikafish, mistakes named, training from your weaknessesYes — fullyYes — western and hybrid setsFree; Premium from $1.99/mo, $19.99 lifetime
PyChessFree open-source web platform: play, analysis, puzzlesNo (browser)Yes — internationalized piecesFree, donation-funded
Chinese Chess - Best XiangQiFree offline AI play and endgame puzzlesYesYes — western symbolsFree, no in-app purchases; ad tracking
Club XiangqiLive club games, Top 100 ranking, English and VietnameseNo (browser)English interfaceFree; optional paid membership
PlayOKA live game in moments, guest playNo (browser)English interfaceFree
Xiangqi OneNewcomer: 40 bots, online play, Pikafish analysisNot advertisedSeveral piece stylesFree

Deeper one-on-one comparisons: Xiangqiful vs Xiangqi.com · vs PyChess · vs Chinese Chess - Best XiangQi · vs Club Xiangqi · vs PlayOK

Honorable mention: if you read Chinese, 天天象棋 (Tiantian Xiangqi) — Tencent's app — is where mainland China plays online, with game review and a large problem database. It is a Chinese-language app on the China App Store, so most readers of this guide won't see it in their store.

The character question, answered honestly

Every xiangqi piece is a flat disc with a Chinese character on it, and both sides use different characters for most of the same pieces — the red general is 帥, the black one 將; red's elephant is 相, black's 象; red's soldier 兵, black's 卒. For a newcomer that can be as many as fourteen characters to learn before the first move. The good news, and it's better news than in shogi, is that the major xiangqi apps have already solved it: Xiangqi.com has an International piece style, PyChess has internationalized pieces, and Best XiangQi has western symbols. Xiangqiful (ours) adds a hybrid set that shows each symbol with its character, plus lessons that introduce the characters one piece at a time, so you can move to the traditional set when you're ready. Whichever app you choose, learn the characters eventually: books, diagrams and every wooden set in a park use them.

A sensible path from zero to online games

1. Learn the moves against a patient computer
Start offline and untimed. The rules that catch chess players out — the cannon's jump, the blocked horse, the palace, the generals that may not face each other, stalemate as a loss — are easier to absorb when nobody is waiting on you.
2. Build a stock of mating patterns
Xiangqi's native puzzle is the consecutive-check problem, where every move must give check. A few classical shapes finish most games. Xiangqiful has 902 of them; Xiangqi.com and PyChess have puzzle sections too.
3. Understand your losses
The step most players skip. An engine line tells you the better move; it doesn't tell you that you keep handing an enemy cannon its screen. Plain-language review does. (This is the job Xiangqiful was built for — we own this opinion.)
4. Then go online
Xiangqi.com for the English-speaking community, PyChess for free open-source play, Club Xiangqi for a bilingual club, PlayOK for a quick game as a guest. Timed games against people are the deep end — far more fun once you stop losing your chariot to a cannon fork.

Our entry, for transparency

Xiangqiful icon
Xiangqiful
Master xiangqi. Move by move.
Learn xiangqi (Chinese chess) on iPhone, iPad and Mac. Pikafish reviews every move on-device and explains your mistakes. Western pieces, offline, no ads.
Free · Progames iOS · iPadOS · macOS

Questions

FAQ

What is the best xiangqi app for iPhone?
It depends on the job. Xiangqi.com is the best free all-rounder in English; Xiangqiful (ours) is the best for learning and improving, with every game reviewed by Pikafish on your device; PyChess is the best free web platform. Most improving players end up with two apps: one to play people, one to train.
What is the best free xiangqi app?
Xiangqi.com — free online games, bots, puzzles and lessons. In a browser, PyChess, Club Xiangqi and PlayOK are free. For a free offline opponent, Chinese Chess - Best XiangQi. Xiangqiful's free tier covers all ten opponents, all 80 lessons, and 2 analyses, 3 puzzles and 2 coach hints a day, with no ads.
Can I play xiangqi without reading Chinese characters?
Yes. Xiangqi.com, PyChess and Best XiangQi all offer western-style pieces. Xiangqiful has western, traditional and hybrid sets, with lessons that introduce the characters one piece at a time.
Can I play xiangqi offline on iPhone?
Yes — Xiangqiful (fully, including analysis and training), Chinese Chess - Best XiangQi, and Xiangqi.com's offline mode against the computer. PyChess, Club Xiangqi and PlayOK need a connection.
Which xiangqi app do Chinese and Vietnamese players use?
In mainland China, Tencent's 天天象棋 (Tiantian Xiangqi), a Chinese-language app on the China App Store. Vietnamese players call the game cờ tướng; Club Xiangqi runs in English and Vietnamese, and Xiangqi.com and Xiangqiful both offer Vietnamese.
Should I learn xiangqi if I already play chess?
Yes — it's chess's closest cousin, but the cannon's jump, the blockable horse, the river, the palace and stalemate-as-a-loss will all mislead a chess instinct. Learn them against a patient computer first. If you like the idea, our Chessful and Shogiful are built on the same play-review-train loop.

Start here

Curious which mistakes you'd make?

Xiangqiful reviews every game you play and names your mistakes in xiangqi's own terms — screenless cannons, trapped horses, broken advisors, missed mates. Free to try, no account, works on a plane.

See Xiangqiful Or compare it with Xiangqi.com