Pong Hau K'i
Slide to the empty point. Don't get stuck. Best of 5 boards.
Pong Hau K'i is a traditional Chinese two-player board game with two pieces each and one empty point. Take turns sliding a piece along a line into the empty point, and win by leaving your rival with no move.
Two pieces each and one empty point, so you never have more than two moves to choose from, yet one careless slide hands your rival the block. A first-timer learns it in one board, and the tension comes when your dock shows a single move left.
Also known as Pong hau ki, Umul Gonu, Ou-moul-ko-no.
- How you hold it
- Face-off
- Match
- Best of 5 boards
- Length
- About 1 to 2½ minutes
- Play
- Friend or bot
How to play Pong Hau K'i: quick rules
About 1 to 2½ minutes for best of 5. Full rules, options and bot levels are further down.
- 1Take turns sliding one piece to the empty point.
- 2Move only along a line.
- 3If your rival has no move on their turn, you win the board.
- 4No block after 30 moves? The board is replayed.
- 5The loser of a board starts the next one.
Pong Hau K'i rules
Setup
- The board has five points: the four corners of a square and its centre. Every corner is joined to the centre, and three sides of the square are drawn. The fourth side, the open edge, has no line.
- Each player has two pieces on the two corners at their own end. The centre starts empty.
- The open edge swaps ends every board, so over a match both players play both setups.
- Who starts the first board is picked at random, and on a rematch the player who lost starts. After each board, the loser starts the next. A 3-2-1 countdown starts every board.
Turns
- On your turn, slide one of your pieces along a drawn line to the empty point.
- There are no captures, no jumps and no passing. You never have more than two moves to choose from.
- A piece with no legal move can't be picked.
Winning
- After every move, if your rival has no legal move, they are blocked and you win the board.
- The match is best of 3, 5 or 7 boards and ends as soon as one player has a majority.
Ties and replays
- If 30 moves go by with no block (40 on Mu Torere), the board is replayed: it doesn't count, and the other player starts.
- With perfect play the game is a draw, so blocks come from mistakes. A match never ends drawn.
Hints against the bot
- Playing the bot, you can spend 20 coins on your turn for a hint. It rings the best move for 2 seconds, without playing it.
- There are no hints against a friend, online or in a tournament.
Boards
- Pong Hau K'i
- Five points, two pieces each, and an open edge that swaps ends every board. The default.
- Mu Torere
- Eight points on a ring around a centre, four pieces each. A piece may step into the centre only when one of its ring neighbours is a rival piece.
Tips to win at Pong Hau K'i
- 1Before you slide, check what the empty point will be next turn. Your move opens a point for your rival, so make sure it doesn't leave them a block.
- 2Keep a piece next to the centre whenever you can: the centre joins every corner, so holding it nearby keeps your options open.
- 3Watch the open edge. Pieces near the side with no line have fewer moves and are the easiest to trap.
- 4When the chevrons in your dock show only one move, slow down and look one move further ahead.
Where Pong Hau K'i comes from
Pong Hau K'i is a traditional blocking game from China, and a very similar game called Ou-moul-ko-no (Umul Gonu) is played in Korea. It is usually drawn on the ground or on paper, and its exact age is not known.
Controls
Phone flat between you. Each player owns a half, and the far half faces the far player.
- On your turn, pieces that can move have a dashed ring. Tap one and it lifts, and the empty point pulses.
- Tap the pulsing point to slide the piece there. Tap the piece again to put it down, or tap your other piece to switch.
- Taps on your rival's pieces or on stuck pieces are simply ignored.
- Chevrons in your dock show how many moves you have open.
Options
Every option is free. Defaults are marked.
| Option | Choices | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Board | Pong Hau K'i (2 each) (default)Mu Torere (4 each) | Which board you play. |
| Boards | Best of 3Best of 5 (default)Best of 7 | How many boards decide the match. |
| Quick hands · 5 s a move | OnOff (default) | Extra. Each human move has 5 seconds; run out and you lose the board. Never applies to the bot. |
| Call-outs | On (default)Off | Extra. "Blocked!", "Quick block!", "Comeback!" and "Too slow!" stickers between boards. No effect on the rules. |
Play Pong Hau K'i against the bot
The bot plays Blue and sees only the board. The whole game has been worked out in advance, so at its best the bot knows every winning and losing position. It thinks for a moment before each move.
Easy
Takes a block when one is right there, otherwise plays at random, and slips often.
Normal
Takes any block it sees and avoids moves that let you block it next turn, with the occasional slip.
Hard
Plays from the solved game: it presses a winning position home and never walks into a losing one. It still slips now and then, so it can be beaten.
Online, tournaments and hints
- Online
- PlannedOnline play for Pong Hau K'i is planned, not available yet. Today you play a friend on one phone or the bot.
- Tournament
- Can be drawn in a tournamentIn a tournament it is always the Pong Hau K'i board, best of 5, with extras at their defaults, and hints are off.
- Hints
- Stuck against the bot? A hint lights up the strongest move for a few coins. Never with a friend, online or in a tournament.
Coming soon
- Online play. Play Pong Hau K'i against a friend online, with a turn timer and reconnect. Planned, not available yet.
How it feels
- A soft lift when you pick a piece, and a stone click with a chalk ripple where it lands.
- A low thud as the blocked pair shakes and the winning pieces glow.
- A stamp for each call-out sticker between boards.
Accessibility
- Nothing relies on colour: chevrons, a lock icon, dashed rings and positions carry the game.
- One finger and two taps a move, with very large touch areas on every point.
- There is no clock on a turn unless you switch on Quick hands.
Pong Hau K'i questions
Each player has two pieces on a five-point board with one empty point. Take turns sliding a piece along a line into the empty point; if your rival has no move on their turn, you win the board.
With perfect play it never ends, so a board with no block after 30 moves is replayed. A match in Duo Clash never ends drawn.
Look one move ahead: every slide opens a point for your rival, so avoid any move that lets them block you next turn. With careful play neither side can force a win.
Mu Torere is a different traditional game from New Zealand, with eight points on a ring and four pieces each. Duo Clash includes it as a second board option.
Yes. Pong Hau K'i in Duo Clash is built for two players on the same phone. Phone flat between you. Each player owns a half, and the far half faces the far player.
Yes. The bot plays Blue and sees only the board. Choose Easy, Normal or Hard.
Play Pong Hau K'i on one phone
Free on Android. Sit face to face, or take on the bot on Easy, Normal or Hard.
