Game of the Three Friends

Game of the Three Friends (Chinese: 三友棋, Pinyin: Sān-yǒu-qí ; also called Sanyou Qi or Three Friends Chess) is a three-player variant of the game xiangqi ("Chinese chess").

It was invented by Zheng Jinde (Chinese: 鄭晉德, Zhèng Jìndé) during the Qing dynasty (1661–1722 AD).

The game symbolizes the Three Kingdoms period war (221–264 AD) between the rival states Wei, Shu, and Wu, each vying for control of China after the fall of the Han dynasty.

Each player controls all the standard xiangqi pieces, with each general represented by the character of its respective kingdom.

In addition, each player controls two extra pieces: "flag" (旗; Qí) and "fire" (火; Huǒ).