The World Xiangqi League (WXL) is the largest xiangqi (Chinese
chess) association in the world, with over 50,000 online members. We welcome
xiangqi players of any age, skill and culture. Basic Memberships are free, and
members can play directly from their browser,
with no special software required to install. Please see also how
you can become a Registered Member to get additional benefits such as a xiangqi
personal home page and WXL tournament eligibility.
This document describes our latest V3.0 software. Please
see some of our other documents including
basic game rules,
known problems
and a list of what's new.
To create your login account, go to our Accounts
Page and select "Create Account" (only one account allowed per person).
Then go back to the home
page to Login. Input your username and password into our login form and
then click on the button. You should then see these messages:
Contacting server...
Trying login...
Starting client...
Welcome.
During this process our Club Java client will be downloaded to your browser, and
soon a new Club window window will open. If you have any problems, please see
our problems
page.
Our software will work best if you set your display
resolution to 800x600 or higher.
(The Club window is a Java applet, and thus it will likely
have the Java coffee cup logo to the left of the window title,
and used as the icon when minimized. The bottom of the window will say "Unsigned
Java Applet Window", which is a warning to you that your browser has downloaded
code from the web to run on your computer. For more information about Java,
see the JavaSoft site.)
When you first login to the Club, you enter into the Lobby. This is where you
first meet other members. The Club window (shown here to the rightclick
on it to display it in its actual size) is organized into four main sections:
The Menu Bar runs along the top of the window,
with menus labeled Club, Game, Options, Member, Chat and Help.
From here you can send commands to the Club server,
including commands to open or switch game tables,
see who is on the system, open help pages, or exit the Club.
The Game Panel is on the left side of the screen.
When in the Lobby, you will see only a blank game board here.
When you are at a game table, you will see the game pieces
displayed on the board, as well as a
Player Panel above and below the game board, to give
you information about the current players. To the right
edge of the game board are a set of "VCR buttons" which
you can use to review a completed or game in progress.
(These buttons only change your current view
of the game, not the actual game state on the server
or displayed to others at the same table.)
The Chat Panel is on the right side of the screen.
This is where you interact with other Club members.
The top part of the Chat Panel is the chat output
area. Just below is the chat input area, where you
can type a message (and then press the Return key)
to send a message to other members. Below the chat
input line is a system status line.
The Sponsor Panel is at the bottom right corner of the screen. This
panel will be used to display information about special club events and tournaments,
as well as providing advertising space for the sponsors who support this Club.
(If your company or group would like to advertise here, please send us
email.)
Our members have developed this Club into a polite community. Rude members
will be banished. Please follow generally accepted chat conventions (e.g., DO
NOT TYPE IN ALL CAPS AS IT APPEARS AS IF YOU ARE YELLING AT PEOPLE). For more
info about chat conventions and jargon, click here.
You can do Member->Who to see who is currently
at the Club. The Member->Tables command shows the
tables.
You can whisper to your friends (no matter what
table they are at) by preceding your chat text with your
friend's name and parenthesis, e.g.,
paul) Hi Paul, did you get my email?
Be careful not to misspell your friend's name, or the
chat will not be delivered. Also, be careful to notice
when someone whispers to youthere will be a closing
parenthesis (instead of the usual colon) to the right
of their name in the chat output window. Make
sure you whisper back instead of replying to all.
These commands allow you to set preferences for the
game panel.
Game Timersets the initial number of minutes
in which each player will have to make all of his or
her moves for the entire game. When a timer counts
down to zero, the game will be marked as a loss
for the player who ran out of time. (See also
our detailed description of timers.)
Move Timer sets the initial maximum number of minutes
that each player will have to make each move.
Pieces allows you to display the game pieces
in any of several different styles. (The default xiangqi
game pieces are Chinese characters, but non-Chinese
newcomers might want to first learn the game using
other symbols.)
Board allows you to choose a texture and
style for the actual game board. The Mystery setting
will occassionally change to a new (perhaps fun vs
practical) background submitted by one of our members.
Sounds enables audio notifications on
certain events, such as moves received, errors,
game over, etc.
Hints allows you to see where a piece
could possibly move just by clicking on it.
Mute - specify a current member from
which you do not want to hear any chats
Strike - send a private message
to the server and to Club Coaches that a specific player
is being rude. (This command has less power
the more you use it, to prevent people from abusing it.)
The red player (southern army) moves first. Move by selecting a
piece and dragging it to desired location. The last moved piece is
always circled in yellow.
See the Game Rules for
a description of each of the pieces.