Minishogi is standard shogi compressed onto a 5x5 board. Each player has six pieces: king, gold, silver, bishop, rook, and one pawn. All the real rules apply, including drops and promotion, and you win by checkmate. It was invented, or possibly rediscovered, around 1970 by Shigenobu Kusumoto of Osaka, and is also called gogo shogi (5x5 shogi).

How is minishogi different from standard shogi?

Three ways. The board is 5x5 instead of 9x9, there are no knights or lances and only one pawn, and the promotion zone is just the single far rank instead of three. One rule also changes: repeating the same position four times loses for the first player, instead of being a draw.

How long does a minishogi game take?

Minutes. There is no development phase: the armies start one square apart, so the fight begins immediately. Most casual games finish in five to fifteen minutes, which is why the variant works well for training and quick play.

Do drops work the same as in standard shogi?

Yes, with the same three restrictions. You cannot drop a second unpromoted pawn on a file, you cannot drop a pawn on the far rank where it could never move, and you cannot deliver checkmate by dropping a pawn. Rooks, bishops, golds, and silvers can be dropped on any empty square.

Is minishogi good practice for full shogi?

Very. Because pieces come off the board and back into hand constantly, minishogi is concentrated drop practice, and every game ends in a real mating attack. Players use it to sharpen exactly the two skills that decide full shogi endgames: drop tactics and mating technique.

Minishogi

Minishogi is full-rules shogi on a 5x5 board: six pieces per side, drops, promotion, checkmate to win. Games take minutes because the fight starts on move one. Play it here free, against the computer or a friend on the same screen.

What minishogi is

Minishogi (also gogo shogi, "5x5 shogi") was invented around 1970 by Shigenobu Kusumoto of Osaka, or possibly rediscovered; small shogi boards had been tried before. His version became the standard. It is the most played serious shogi variant: small enough to finish over coffee, deep enough that engines and tournament players still find it interesting.

Nothing about how pieces move is new. If you know thestandard pieces, you already know minishogi. What changes is the geography.

The rules in full

Each player has six pieces. From each player's left: king, gold, silver, bishop, rook across the home rank, and one pawn directly in front of the king. There are no knights or lances.

Moves: identical to standard shogi. The rook and bishop slide, the generals step, the pawn pushes straight ahead and captures straight ahead.
Promotion: the zone is the single far rank. Rook, bishop, silver, and pawn promote; promotion is optional except a pawn reaching the far rank must promote. Promoted forms are the usual ones: dragon, horse, and gold movement for silver and pawn.
Drops: captured pieces join your hand and drop on empty squares, with the standard restrictions. No second unpromoted pawn on a file, no pawn on the far rank, no pawn-drop checkmate.
Winning: checkmate the king. A player with no legal moves loses.
Repetition: if the same position occurs four times, the first player loses. On a board this small the first move is a real advantage, so the tie goes against the side that had it.

How it plays compared to 9x9

Standard shogi games have three acts: build, clash, race.Compared even to chess, the opening is constructive and patient. Minishogi deletes the first act. Your rook stares at the enemy camp from move one, the first capture usually happens within a handful of moves, and from there the game is all middlegame and endgame. Because the promotion zone is one rank deep, promotion is harder to force than its 9x9 cousin's three-rank zone, and walking a pawn to promotion often decides the game.

The hand matters even more than usual. With so few squares, a single dropped silver can tear open a king position, and giving your opponent the wrong piece is often the losing mistake. This is why minishogi is such good training: it is thedrop rule with the volume turned up.

Where it fits

Minishogi is the middle rung of a natural ladder. Start withAnimal Shogi if drops and promotion are new to you or you are teaching a child. Move here for real checkmates in short games. Then take thefull lesson and play thestandard 9x9 game, where the same skills stretch across a bigger canvas. The rest of the family is on thevariants page.

FAQ

What is minishogi?
Minishogi is standard shogi compressed onto a 5x5 board. Each player has six pieces: king, gold, silver, bishop, rook, and one pawn. All the real rules apply, including drops and promotion, and you win by checkmate. It was invented, or possibly rediscovered, around 1970 by Shigenobu Kusumoto of Osaka, and is also called gogo shogi (5x5 shogi).
How is minishogi different from standard shogi?
Three ways. The board is 5x5 instead of 9x9, there are no knights or lances and only one pawn, and the promotion zone is just the single far rank instead of three. One rule also changes: repeating the same position four times loses for the first player, instead of being a draw.
How long does a minishogi game take?
Minutes. There is no development phase: the armies start one square apart, so the fight begins immediately. Most casual games finish in five to fifteen minutes, which is why the variant works well for training and quick play.
Do drops work the same as in standard shogi?
Yes, with the same three restrictions. You cannot drop a second unpromoted pawn on a file, you cannot drop a pawn on the far rank where it could never move, and you cannot deliver checkmate by dropping a pawn. Rooks, bishops, golds, and silvers can be dropped on any empty square.
Is minishogi good practice for full shogi?
Very. Because pieces come off the board and back into hand constantly, minishogi is concentrated drop practice, and every game ends in a real mating attack. Players use it to sharpen exactly the two skills that decide full shogi endgames: drop tactics and mating technique.