Offline · No account · Training
A Xiangqi.com alternative
for the games you study, not the games you play online.
Xiangqi.com is where English-speaking xiangqi players meet. It has real-time games against people, friend challenges, tournaments, bots, puzzles, and lessons on iPhone, Android, and the web, and it is free to play. Xiangqiful is a practice room: 40 AI opponents with their own styles, Pikafish going through every game on your device, each mistake named in xiangqi's own terms, and training built from what you missed. It has no account and no ads, and it collects nothing.
How does Xiangqiful compare to Xiangqi.com?
One is an online platform and the other is a training app.
Core purpose
Xiangqiful: Single-player training. You play 40 AI opponents with their own styles, get every game reviewed, then train what the review found.
Xiangqi.com: Online play, with real-time games against people, friend challenges, chat, tournaments, and leaderboards, with bots, puzzles, and lessons alongside.
Xiangqi.com: Online play, with real-time games against people, friend challenges, chat, tournaments, and leaderboards, with bots, puzzles, and lessons alongside.
Engine analysis
Xiangqiful: Pikafish runs on your device with its neural network. Every move is graded from best to blunder, with accuracy for both sides, and mistakes are named in xiangqi terms: a screenless cannon, a trapped horse, broken advisors, a missed Iron Bolt mate.
Xiangqi.com: In-app engine analysis for reviewing your games. Xiangqi.com credits Pikafish too, so the engine is the same. Xiangqiful adds the naming and the training built from it.
Xiangqi.com: In-app engine analysis for reviewing your games. Xiangqi.com credits Pikafish too, so the engine is the same. Xiangqiful adds the naming and the training built from it.
Reading the pieces
Xiangqiful: Three piece sets: traditional characters, western symbols, and a hybrid that carries both. Traditional or simplified characters; WXF or Chinese notation; an optional 3D board.
Xiangqi.com: Traditional pieces and an International style with western symbols, which is a good on-ramp for players who don't read Chinese.
Xiangqi.com: Traditional pieces and an International style with western symbols, which is a good on-ramp for players who don't read Chinese.
Puzzles & lessons
Xiangqiful: 902 mate problems, mate-in-1 to mate-in-7, 708 of them from eight classical manuals, the Shiqing Yaqu supplying the most, each line re-checked by the app's own solver. 150+ drills in nine modules, and 80 lessons in 8 tracks.
Xiangqi.com: Thousands of puzzles from beginner to expert, plus interactive lessons for beginners and improving players.
Xiangqi.com: Thousands of puzzles from beginner to expert, plus interactive lessons for beginners and improving players.
Offline & privacy
Xiangqiful: Works offline, with no account, server, ads, or tracking. The app collects no data.
Xiangqi.com: An online service with accounts; a recent update added an offline mode for computer and local two-player games. Its privacy label lists data linked to you, including email, gameplay content, and usage data.
Xiangqi.com: An online service with accounts; a recent update added an offline mode for computer and local two-player games. Its privacy label lists data linked to you, including email, gameplay content, and usage data.
Price & platforms
Xiangqiful: Free; Premium $1.99/month or $9.99/year (each with a 7-day free trial), or $19.99 once. iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
Xiangqi.com: Free to play, with an optional ad-free subscription. iPhone and iPad, plus Android and the web.
Xiangqi.com: Free to play, with an optional ad-free subscription. iPhone and iPad, plus Android and the web.
| Feature | Xiangqiful | Xiangqi.com |
|---|---|---|
| Core mechanic | Play, review, and train against 40 AI opponents | Live online games against people, plus bots |
| Online play against people | No (by design) | Yes: real-time games, friend challenges, tournaments |
| Works offline | Yes, everything runs on device | Offline mode for computer and local games; online features need a connection |
| Account | None | Account-based online service |
| Engine analysis | Pikafish on device, with moves graded from best to blunder and accuracy for both sides | In-app engine analysis (Pikafish credited) |
| Mistakes named in xiangqi terms | Yes: screenless cannon, trapped horse, broken advisors, missed mates | Not a listed feature |
| Puzzles | 902 mate problems, mate-in-1 to mate-in-7, solver-checked | Thousands of puzzles |
| Lessons | 80 lessons in 8 tracks | Interactive lessons |
| Western-style pieces | Western and hybrid sets | International piece style |
| Ads | None, in either tier | Ad-free experience is a paid subscription option |
| Data collection | None: the app collects no data | Data linked to you: email, gameplay content, usage data, and more |
| Price | Free; Premium $1.99/mo or $9.99/yr (each with a 7-day free trial), or $19.99 lifetime | Free; optional ad-free subscription |
| Platforms | iPhone, iPad, and Mac | iPhone and iPad, plus Android and the web |
| Best for | Structured, offline improvement at your own pace | Playing people and joining the English-language xiangqi community |
Xiangqi.com details were checked on 1 October 2026 against its US App Store listing, its app page, and its public release notes, and can change. Check features, the subscription price, and the privacy label on the current listing before installing.
Which one to pick
Pick Xiangqiful if you want…
- Every game reviewed by Pikafish on your own device, with each mistake named in xiangqi terms
- Training, drills, and mate problems chosen from your own weaknesses
- 40 opponents in eight tiers, each with its own style, the first 10 free
- No account, and an app that plays the same in airplane mode
- iPhone, iPad, and Mac, with a $19.99 lifetime option
Pick Xiangqi.com if you want…
- Real-time games against people, any time of day
- Tournaments, leaderboards, chat, and an English-speaking community
- A free app that also runs on Android and in a browser
- Bots, puzzles, and lessons in the same place you play online
For human opponents, use Xiangqi.com. To understand why your games went wrong and fix it offline, add Xiangqiful.
About Xiangqiful
Questions
FAQ
What is the best Xiangqi.com alternative for training?
Xiangqiful, if you want to improve more than you want to play online. Xiangqi.com focuses on games against people, with bots, puzzles, and lessons alongside. Xiangqiful focuses on getting better: you play 40 AI opponents with their own styles, Pikafish grades every move on your device and names each mistake in xiangqi terms, and your next drills and mate problems come from what you missed. It runs offline with no account on iPhone, iPad, and Mac. For online play, keep Xiangqi.com.
Does Xiangqiful have online play like Xiangqi.com?
No, by design. Xiangqiful is a single-player training app with no accounts or matchmaking. Its 40 AI opponents sit in eight tiers from Novice to Master, each with its own style, on Xiangqiful's own strength scale (not Elo). The first 10 are free with unlimited games, Premium opens all 40, and beating an opponent twice marks it defeated. For games against people, Xiangqi.com is the better tool.
Xiangqi.com is free. Why would I pay for Xiangqiful?
You don't have to. Xiangqiful's free tier has no time limit: unlimited games against the first 10 of its 40 opponents, all 80 lessons, the first drill set in every drill module, 2 game analyses a day, 3 training puzzles a day, and 2 coach hints a day, with no ads. Premium ($1.99/month or $9.99/year, each with a 7-day free trial, or $19.99 once) removes the daily limits and unlocks every drill, deep multi-line analysis, and the skill profile and weakness trends. All three Premium plans support Family Sharing. Xiangqi.com is free to play too, so on price alone it wins. What Xiangqiful offers is offline, private coaching.
Do Xiangqi.com and Xiangqiful use the same engine?
Xiangqi.com's release notes credit Pikafish, and Xiangqiful runs Pikafish, a strong open-source engine derived from Stockfish. The difference is what happens around it: Xiangqiful runs the engine on your own device with no account, grades every move from best to blunder, names each mistake in xiangqi terms, and turns those mistakes into your next training session.
Can I play either app without reading Chinese characters?
Yes. Xiangqi.com offers an International piece style with western symbols. Xiangqiful has three piece sets (traditional characters, western symbols, and a hybrid that shows both so you learn the characters as you play), plus traditional or simplified characters and WXF or Chinese notation.
Can I use both Xiangqi.com and Xiangqiful?
Yes, and that is the pattern we'd suggest: play people on Xiangqi.com, then train offline in Xiangqiful. If you have a game's moves as WXF or ICCS movetext, you can import it into Xiangqiful and analyze it; XQF files are not supported, and Xiangqiful does not sync with any online account.
Try it
Open Xiangqiful
Play, find out why you lost, and train on your own device, with no account and no ads.
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