Wei Chi1 is 4000 years Older than Chess and more complex

Wei Chi1 is an ancient game originating in China around 4000BC, making it older than chess.

It was invented by one of the emperors to help his son, who had learning difficulties, with his education.

From its origins it spread to other oriental lands such as Japan where it's called Igo, or Go, and Korea where it's called Baduk, and eventually it migrated to Europe and America sometime in the 19th Century.

Though seemingly a simple game, it quickly caught on in the various emperors' courts.

In Japan this was taken to extremes with schools being set up to teach the game, and power going to those who played well.

Even in the modern day Orient it's far more popular than chess is in the West, and it's played by millions of people all over the world.

Comparison to Chess

In the Occident, chess is often seen as the ultimate in human thinking.

The headlines when Deep Blue2 beat Chess Champion Garry Kasparov showed us that.

However, compared to Wei Chi, chess is not that complex.

Chess has 64 squares and a definite starting set up.

Wei Chi has an empty board as a starting position ... and players can place stones anywhere on the board ... on a 19 x 19 square board ... that gives 361 possible starting positions.

Have any of you played Wei Chi? Or seen it being played?

Please tell us your experience and opinion ... Thank you.