How to play
- Sente moves first, from the bottom. Pieces point at the other side. Tap one of yours to see where it can go, then tap a lit square.
- Checkmate the other king to win: put it in check so that no move gets it out.
- When you capture a piece it goes to your hand, below the board. On a later turn, instead of moving, tap it and drop it on any lit empty square. It plays for you from then on.
- Moving into, inside or out of the far three rows, most pieces may promote. A pawn or lance on the last row, or a knight on the last two, must promote.
The pieces
- King (王): one square any way.
- Rook (飛): any distance straight. Promoted, the dragon (龍), it can also step one square diagonally.
- Bishop (角): any distance diagonally. Promoted, the horse (馬), it can also step one square straight.
- Gold (金): one square straight, or diagonally forward. It doesn’t promote.
- Silver (銀): one square diagonally, or straight forward.
- Knight (桂): jumps two forward and one to the side, the only way it can go.
- Lance (香): any distance straight forward.
- Pawn (歩): one square forward. It captures the same way.
- A promoted silver, knight, lance or pawn (written in red) moves like a gold.
Drop rules
- You can’t drop a pawn on a file where you already have an unpromoted pawn.
- You can’t drop a pawn, lance or knight where it could never move again.
- You can drop a pawn to give check, but not to give checkmate.
Tips
Keep your king tucked behind a gold and a silver, away from the middle. Pieces in hand are strong because they can land anywhere, so trading isn’t as safe as in western chess: count what your opponent could drop before you capture. Promoted pawns are cheap golds and very hard to get rid of.
Shogi has been played in Japan for centuries; the modern rules with drops date from the 1500s.