Shogi, the Japanese variant of Chess, is now in Alpha!
The goal, like in all chess variants, is to checkmate the king. The biggest difference in Shogi is that captured pieces can be dropped back on the board, making for a lot of interesting strategies and a very dynamic endgame. There are also more advanced promotion rules, making promotion a crucial part of the game.
Played on a 9x9 board with overall weaker pieces compared to Chess or Xiangqi (eg only one rook and bishop per player), Shogi has a very different feel, focusing more on long term strategies than immediate tactics. While Chess players will often find value in trying out Shogi, it's also very possible to like this game while disliking Chess (it's my case ^^).
While it's not a very well-known game in occidental countries (aside from Naruto readers
), it's a very popular national sport in Japan with a long history, going so far as having TV shows for the different tournaments (8 major tournaments + a bunch of minor ones). There's also a community of dedicated players trying to make the game more popular over the world, with a bunch of Youtube channels, Discord servers etc.
Get on board with the reviewer team here: https://boardgamearena.com/reviewer?game=shogi
You're not an alpha reviewer but have experience with the game ? Contact me to receive an invitation!
Planned improvements
- Highlight the last move played
- Animations
- Resolve entering king situations (very rare case where the kings become almost impossible to mate because they entered their opponent's camp)
- Choosing which player will play first
- Handicap games
The goal, like in all chess variants, is to checkmate the king. The biggest difference in Shogi is that captured pieces can be dropped back on the board, making for a lot of interesting strategies and a very dynamic endgame. There are also more advanced promotion rules, making promotion a crucial part of the game.
Played on a 9x9 board with overall weaker pieces compared to Chess or Xiangqi (eg only one rook and bishop per player), Shogi has a very different feel, focusing more on long term strategies than immediate tactics. While Chess players will often find value in trying out Shogi, it's also very possible to like this game while disliking Chess (it's my case ^^).
While it's not a very well-known game in occidental countries (aside from Naruto readers
), it's a very popular national sport in Japan with a long history, going so far as having TV shows for the different tournaments (8 major tournaments + a bunch of minor ones). There's also a community of dedicated players trying to make the game more popular over the world, with a bunch of Youtube channels, Discord servers etc.Get on board with the reviewer team here: https://boardgamearena.com/reviewer?game=shogi
You're not an alpha reviewer but have experience with the game ? Contact me to receive an invitation!
Planned improvements
- Highlight the last move played
- Animations
- Resolve entering king situations (very rare case where the kings become almost impossible to mate because they entered their opponent's camp)
- Choosing which player will play first
- Handicap games
