Western/International chess is great but I wanted to start a topic to see how many people know about all the different flavors of chess worldwide. I came across 2 versions of chess played in Asia.

 Xiangqi (Elephant chess) also known as Chinese chess and Shogi (General's chess) also known as Japanese chess are 2 very popular chess games played by millions of people. I learned Xiangqi about 2 years ago and Shogi about 6 months ago.

What experiences has everyone else had?

I also have started 2 groups for these versions of chess. I know this site is only western chess but feel free to join the shogi group and/or xiangqi group and learn about these great games

I heard of these and many other chess variants when I was in my teens.  These were described in the 1968 book _Chess Variations:  Ancient, Regional and Modern_ by John Gollon.  I remember the rules of locomotion in shogi; I remember little about xiangqi, other than the fortress, and a river which is no barrier to the movement of most of the men.  Oh, yes, and that it is played on the points and NOT on the squares, with pieces whose physical shape is much like that of the men in draughts (checkers), which I also like to play.