Board games
Shogi
- players
- 2
- minutes
- 45
- years
- 8+
In the box
1 board of 9 × 9 squares · 40 coins
Official rules (federation's site)
Box details
- Origin
- Traditional game, with no specific designer or publisher
- Mechanics
- Grid MovementPattern MovementSquare Grid
Where to buy it
Near you
In a shop
Within 50 km.
The basics
As in chess, you must checkmate the opposing king, but captured pieces change sides. On your turn, move a piece or drop a captured piece on an empty square; a piece reaching the opponent's last three ranks may be promoted by turning it over. Checkmate wins the game, but players usually resign before that, once they have no way out.
The rules, step by step
Setup
9 × 9 board, 20 pieces per side
- Two players, a board of nine squares by nine, twenty pieces each.
- The pieces are pentagons pointing towards the opponent: their orientation, not their colour, shows who they belong to.
- Each side lines up: nine pawns on the third rank, the bishop and the rook on the second, then king, gold generals, silver generals, knights and lances on the first.
How to play
Move or drop, Promote in last 3 ranks
- The player with sente moves first. Move a piece, or drop a captured piece.
- A captured piece joins the captor's hand and can be dropped, on their turn, on any empty square of the board: it now fights for them.
- A piece that enters, moves within or leaves the opponent's last three ranks may be promoted, by turning it over to its red side.
- The pawn, lance, knight, silver, bishop and rook each have their promotion; the king and the gold do not.
- A dropped pawn may never give checkmate directly, nor be placed on a file where you already have an unpromoted pawn.
Scoring
No points, Games won
- No points: count the games won.
- Enter 1 for the winner, 0 for the other.
End of the game
Checkmate, Resignation, 4 repetitions: replay
- Checkmate: the game is won.
- A player with no way out resigns, which is the normal way to lose: experienced players do not play on to checkmate.
- Fourfold repetition of the same position: the game is replayed, with colours reversed.
House rules and pitfalls
Drops are what set shogi apart from every other chess game: nothing ever leaves the board…
- Drops are what set shogi apart from every other chess game: nothing ever leaves the board, and material never decreases. So there are hardly any draws.
- The pieces are told apart only by the characters written on them. Sets with pictograms exist for learning.
Going further
Frequently asked questions · In the same family
Frequently asked questions
What sets shogi apart from chess?
Captured pieces change sides: you can "drop" a captured piece on almost any square, like reinforcements. Material never leaves the game.
How does promotion work?
When entering the opponent's last three ranks, most pieces may be promoted, gaining new moves (often those of the gold general).
Is the aim the same as in chess?
Yes: checkmate the opposing king. But drops make attacks much more sudden and kings harder to make safe.
Can you drop anywhere?
Almost: there are a few restrictions, such as a pawn on a file where you already have an unpromoted pawn, or a piece on a square from which it could never move again.
Why do the pieces look alike?
They are marked with kanji, without colour: their orientation (the point) shows who they belong to. A dropped piece turns to face the opponent.