DIY Dou Sho Qi set

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Getting started with Dou Shou Qi – a do-it-yourself 'wooden' board and pieces.
The first thing you need is a Dou Shou Qi set! This page tells you how to make a simple 'wooden' board and pieces
using paper templates. This is cheaper than buying a proper Dou Shou Qi set – you can make a set for ~£5!
The 2nd page of this document is a mock 'wood-effect' paper. In China Dou Shou Qi boards are often made of paper,
folded inside the box in which the pieces are stored. This 'luxury' wooden board is a little unusual!
The 3rd and 4th pages are templates for a standard Dou Shou Qi board and a complete set of pieces.
What should you do with this stuff? With a little care, using good quality materials, you can produce a very effective
Dou Shou Qi set:
• Print 2 copies of page 2. I used 210/220 gsm white card and my small ink-jet printer. Use heavier card if your
printer will accept it, say 250 gsm. For a better quality print, use a laser printer. 
• Put the two copies back in the printer, 'right way up'.
• Print one copy each of the board and piece templates (3rd & 4th pages).
• You should now have a 'wooden' Dou Shou Qi board and pieces.
• [Optionally photocopy the wood-effect page onto the 'back' of the board. You should now have a double-sided
'wooden' board.]
• Carefully cut out the pieces with sharp scissors – cut them 'square' – it's far too fiddly trying to cut out
individual, separate circles!
• [If you've decided to go for 'wooden' pieces, cut the piece templates into the strips in which they are arranged.
Lightly score the strips along the dividing line joining the bottom of the pieces. Now fold firmly, and carefully
stick the folded strips together 'back-to-back' using double-sided adhesive tape. Try to avoid 'air bubbles' and
cut out as outlined above.] 
• Result – a cheap, usable Dou Shou Qi set.
If your printer won't accept card, you can use paper (90 gsm is OK, but 120 gsm is better.) but beware – if you do use
paper, and choose to use glue to stick things together, the glue may 'bleed' through the paper and cause the ink to run.
If you do use glue, you may need to experiment – I used PVA craft glue. Place things under a heavy weight, to keep
them flat till dry.
With a little ingenuity, you can 'perm' alternative combinations using these templates – for example a 'wooden' Dou
Shou Qi board with white pieces.
If you want a copy of this document, email me at rjhare@outlook.com. The document is free. It's also available from
Dropbox location: https://tinyurl.com/RogersShogiArchive
(or in full): https://www.dropbox.com/sh/2wicm2bnw5lv3t0/AADyepK_y_3e819UAbrwjJoza?dl=0
What next? A leaflet describing the rules is available for downloading and printing at:
https://tinyurl.com/Dou-Sho-Qi-Rules 
Go and buy a real book – if you can find a book about Dou Shou Qi in English, let me know – please! There is a little
information, including the rules, in Board and Table Games from Many Civilizations (R. C. Bell, Dover, 1979, 0-486-
23855-5) and The Boardgame Book (R. C. Bell, Cavendish House, 1983, 0-85685-447-6).
Want to know more about Dou Shou Qi? For more information, go to the Wikipedia Dou Shou Qi page which can
be found at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jungle_(board_game). Rules are included. Other internet locations are: 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jungle_(board_game)
Chess Variants page: https://www.chessvariants.com/other.dir/animal.html
Ancient Chess page: http://ancientchess.com/page/play-doushouqi.htm
Can't find anyone to play against? TBA – details of computer programs – if I can find one. 
Hooked? Want a real Dou Shou Qi set? If you have a 'China Town' near you, try one of the Chinese grocers or gift
shops (here in Manchester, we are lucky – we have both!). You can probably find reasonably priced sets on Amazon.
mailto:rjhare@outlook.com
 Dou Shou Qi Board – download further copies from Dropbox: https://www.tinyurl.com/RogersShogiArchive – download the file DIY Dou Sho Qi set.pdf. Created by Roger Hare, September 2018.
 Dou Shou Qi piece templates.
The symbols on the pieces are the simplified Chinese characters as given by Google translate, and they seem to
correspond to the symbols on the pieces I have seen. These piece images are transparent.
 
 
 
 
 Rat Cat Wolf Dog Panther Tiger Lion Elephant
Here's how the pieces are laid out at the start of play: