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Makruk is the chess of Thailand, a close cousin of the Western game that kept older, gentler pieces. Rooks and knights move as usual, but the Met steps one square diagonally, the Khon moves like an elephant, and pawns start on the third row and promote on the sixth. Beat the computer to build a winning streak — it reads deeper as your streak grows.
You play white from the bottom of the board and move first; the computer plays black. Tap one of your pieces to pick it up and every square it can legally reach lights up, then tap one of those squares to move. Tap the piece again to put it back.
The pieces: the Rua (♜) moves any distance in a straight line like a rook, and the Ma (♞) jumps like a knight. The Khon (♝) steps one square diagonally in any direction or one square straight forward. The Met (♛) steps one square diagonally in any direction. The Khun (♚) is the king and steps one square in any direction. The Bia (♟) are pawns: they start on the third row, move one square straight forward, and capture one square diagonally forward. There is no double first step, no en passant and no castling.
When a Bia reaches the sixth row — the row where the opponent's pawns started — it is promoted to a Met at once. Those two rows are shaded slightly darker on the board as a reminder.
Checkmate the computer's Khun to win. Stalemate, a board with only the two kings, fifty moves by each side without a capture or pawn move, and the same position three times are all draws. A win adds one to your streak, a draw keeps it, and a loss resets it to zero. The computer searches deeper as your streak grows.
Makruk is a slower game than Western chess because most pieces only step one square. The Rua is by far the strongest piece, worth about as much as a Ma and a Khon together, so trading a minor piece for it is almost always good for you. Keep your Ruas on open files and bring them into play early.
The Khon is a surprisingly good defender. Placed diagonally in front of your Khun it covers the squares an attacking Ma likes to land on, and its forward step lets it climb the board alongside your pawns. The Met is weak on its own but excellent in a pawn chain, where it supports advancing Bia diagonally.
Pawn structure matters a great deal. The two pawn walls start only two rows apart, so the first captures come quickly. Pawns that reach the sixth row become Mets, which are small but real extra pieces — a spare Met near the enemy Khun often decides an endgame.
In the endgame, remember that a king and a single Met cannot force checkmate, for you or the computer. Keep a Rua or several pieces if you want to win, and use the fifty-move draw rule to escape if you are behind in material.