Gungi is a fictional, two-player strategy board game that is played by the citizens of East Gorteau and other major characters in Hunter x Hunter—a Japanese comic and animated series written by Yoshihiro Togashi. Despite the popularity of the series and the existence of Gungi for nearly a decade, Yoshihiro Togashi has yet to release an official ruleset let alone a physical adaptation of the board game. This project introduces a Windows application of Gungi that remains as true to the source material as possible—both graphically and functionally —while striking a balance between accessibility and competitiveness. Like the game presented in the fictional series, this application is a strategy board game for two players, similar to chess or shogi, with a unique use of the third-dimension. This mechanic allows players to stack their pieces on any other pieces (including the opposing player’s) and form towers. The added dimensionality along with other uncommon features, such as player-decided starting placements and placing pieces into play mid-match, provides players with a multitude of strategies to checkmate the opposing Marshall (King) or defend their own. To appeal to a broad audience—especially those outside of the series’ fanbase—this application provides an interactive tutorial to demonstrate the rules and general strategy of the game. The application also integrates hover boxes and tooltips into the user interface to assist the player in their decision-making process. The final product aims to exemplify a nonintrusive and intuitive environment and the standard platform for playing Gungi.
