Play Shogi
The board below is ready. You do not need to know all the rules first, because the coach explains them as you play. Three steps and you are in your first game.
- Leave the difficulty on easy. The computer will make mistakes on purpose, so the game stays winnable while you learn.
- Tap a piece. Dots show every square it can reach. Tap one to move. Your goal, as in chess, is to checkmate the enemy king.
- When you capture, look at your hand. Captured pieces sit beside the board and can be dropped back onto almost any empty square as your own. This is the drop rule, and it is what makes shogi shogi.
Your first three moves
Shogi openings reward simple plans over memorized lines. A solid start for a first game: push the pawn in front of your rook one square, push it again, and bring a silver general up beside it. That builds a direct attack down one side of the board while your gold generals stay home to guard the king.
Two habits worth forming from game one. First, do not push the edge pawns early; they do little and weaken your corners. Second, before attacking, spend a few moves walking your king away from the center and toward a corner. In shogi the king starts in the middle of the back rank, right where the fighting happens.
When you want the full picture in order, thehow to play shogi lesson walks through the board, the setup, every piece, drops, promotion, and your first real opening plan, with practice positions along the way.
What the coach does
Shogi has a few rules that catch every beginner: you cannot have two unpromoted pawns on the same file, you cannot drop a piece where it could never move again, and you cannot checkmate with a pawn drop. When you try one of these, the board tells you which rule you hit and why, then lets you pick another move. It is the fastest way to learn the rules, because you only study the ones you actually run into. Therules reference has the complete list when you want it.
Stuck in the middle of a game? The hint button draws the engine's suggestion on the board as an arrow. When you are ready for a tougher opponent, thecomputer opponent page explains what each difficulty level actually does.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to learn shogi?
You can learn the movements in about half an hour. There are eight piece types, and five of them only move one square at a time. The drop rule and promotion take a few games to feel natural. With the coach turned on, the board teaches the rules as you break them.
What difficulty should I start on?
Start on easy. It plays reasonable moves but makes deliberate mistakes, which gives you targets to hit and winnable games while you learn. Move up to medium once you win consistently. Losing every game teaches less than winning some, so there is no shame in staying on easy.
What should my first moves be?
Two good beginner plans: push the pawn in front of your rook to build a rook-side attack, or open the bishop diagonal by pushing the pawn two files from the left. Then develop a silver toward the center and tuck your king away from the action before attacking.
Can I undo a mistake?
Yes. The undo button takes back your last move and the computer reply together, so it is your turn again. Undo is for learning, not cheating: when a move loses a piece, take it back, work out why, and find the better move while the position is fresh.