The Complete Rules Guide for the Shogi Board Game

Shogi (sho-gee) is a 2-player strategy game that’s commonly called Japanese Chess, and it’s the perfect step up from the classic game. Just like chess, your goal is to checkmate the King using pieces that have specific movement rules, but there are a lot of fun changes that make this game more fun and easy to learn! Keep reading, and we’ll walk you through setting up your Shogi game and all the rules you need to know to start playing right away!

Shogi Rules Overview

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An infographic showing a Shogi board set up for a game and how the pieces move.

To play Shogi, players each have a set of pieces used to attack and defend their King. During a turn, players can move one of their pieces or place a captured piece back on the board. If a player’s King is at risk of being captured and is unable to move or block the attack, they’re checkmated and lose the game.

Section 1 of 6:

Shogi Game Objective

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Be the first player to checkmate the other player’s King. In a game of Shogi, each player has a set of 20 pieces, including their King. Players take turns moving one of their pieces on the board, building up their defenses or attacking their opponent. When you attack the other person’s King and they’re not able to escape getting captured, then you win!
- Shogi is meant for 2 players, and games may take anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours, depending on the players’ skill levels.

Section 2 of 6:

Shogi Pieces and Setup

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1
Give each player a set of pieces. Pieces in Shogi don’t have specific colors, so the only way to tell them apart on the board is by which direction they’re pointing. Make sure each player gets the following pieces:^{[1]
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- 9 Pawns
- 2 Lances
- 2 Knights
- 2 Silver Generals
- 2 Gold Generals
- 1 Bishop
- 1 Rook
- 1 King
2
Place the Lances in the corners of the board. Sit on the opposite side of the board from the other player. Locate your 2 Lances and place them in the row closest to you in the corner squares. Lances can move straight forward through any number of open spaces.
- At the start of the game, make sure all the pieces have their black “unpromoted” side face-up and are pointing toward the opposite side of the board.
The Knights move in an L-shape by going 2 spaces forward and 1 space to the left or right. They are the only pieces that can jump over other pieces blocking their way, but they cannot move backwards.
The Silver Generals can move 1 space forward or 1 space diagonally in any direction, including backwards.
Gold Generals are sometimes known as the “King’s helpers,” and they can move 1 space in any direction, except diagonally backwards.
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Position the King in the center of the back row. The King is the most important piece on the board, and it’s the one you want to protect from your opponent. Kings can move 1 space in any direction, including backward and diagonally.
- One King usually has an additional mark on the piece so you can tell them apart when they’re on the board.
7
Place the Bishop and Rook in the 2nd and 8th columns in the second row. Unlike regular chess, each player only gets 1 Bishop and 1 Rook. Put the Bishop in front of your Knight in the 2nd column and set the Rook in front of your Knight in the 8th column.
- Bishops can move diagonally any number of open spaces, forwards or backwards.
- Rooks can move straight forward, backward, left, or right any number of open spaces.
Place all your pawns in the row in front of your Bishop and Rook. Your pawns are the frontlines of your army, and they help you set up traps and defenses. Pawns can only move 1 space forward, and they’ll stay in the column where they started.
Take 5 of the pawns from the board, shake them in your hands, and gently toss them onto the table. If 3 or more of the pawns are on their black “unpromoted” side, then the player who rolled goes first. If 3 or more pawns have the red “promoted” side face-up, then they go second.^{[2]
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Section 3 of 6:

Shogi Game Rules

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1
Move one of your pieces on your turn. When it’s your turn, you may choose any of your pieces on the board and move it following its movement rules. At the start of the game, the first pieces you typically move are your pawns so you can free up your pieces in the back row.
- Remember that pieces cannot jump over each other, unless you’re moving a Knight.
- You cannot move your piece into a space that has another one of your pieces.
2
Capture an enemy piece if you move into its space. Capturing pieces is the main way to attack your opponent in a game of Shogi, and can help you get closer to winning. To capture, move your piece into a space that has one of your opponent’s pieces. Then, remove your opponent’s piece from the board and set it aside.^{[3]
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- Captured pieces are called mochi-goma, or “pieces in hand.”
3
Promote a piece by moving it into your opponent’s starting rows. The last 3 rows on each side of the board are called promotion zones. When you move any of your pieces across the board into your promotion zone, you may flip it over to the red “promoted” side. Promoted pieces move differently than their normal side, and they stay promoted until they’re captured.^{[4]
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- Promoted Pawns, Lances, Knights, and Silver Generals can move 1 space in any direction except diagonally backwards.
- Promoted Bishops keep their normal movement and gain the ability to move 1 space forward, backward, left, or right.
- Promoted Rooks keep their normal movement and gain the ability to move diagonally 1 space in any direction.
- Gold Generals and Kings cannot be promoted.
- If a piece ends in the promotion zone and wouldn’t be able to move normally next turn, then you have to promote it.
4
Play a captured piece to the board instead of moving. If you don’t want to move a piece on your turn, choose one of the pieces that you’ve captured and drop it with its unpromoted side face-up onto an open space on the board. After you place your piece, your turn ends, but there are a few restrictions for where you can drop it.^{[5]
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- If you drop a piece into the promotion zone, it stays unpromoted until the next time you move it.
- You cannot drop a Pawn in an open spot that would put your opponent’s King in checkmate.
- You cannot drop a Pawn into a column that already has another unpromoted Pawn.
- You cannot drop a piece into a space where it has no legal move.
5
Move a piece to attack your opponent’s King to put them in “check.” At the end of your turn, if a piece you moved could capture the King next turn, then you put them in “check.” Your opponent must move their King, capture your piece, or block the attack by moving or dropping another piece.[Image:Play Shogi Step 17.jpg|center]]
- You do not have to tell the other player when you put their king in check.

Section 4 of 6:

How to Win Shogi

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1
Checkmate your opponent and win when their King can’t escape an attack. If you end your turn putting the King in check, and they have no way to move or block the capture on their turn, then they’ve been checkmated. You win the game immediately!^{[6]
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- Players may resign from the game if they think they’re at a disadvantage and don’t feel like they can win.
- Games can also end in a draw if players repeat the same board position 4 times.
If you want a shorter variation of the game, end the match if both Kings cross the board into the promotion zones. Collect all the pieces you captured and the ones you still have on the board. Then, earn 5 points for each Rook and Bishop, and 1 point for every other piece besides the King. If a player has less than 24 points, then they lose.^{[7]
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Section 5 of 6:

Shogi Strategies

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Shogi is a tactical game where strategies can change at a moment’s notice. Keep your eyes on what your opponent does on their turn, and try to predict what their next move will be. Make sure to move some of your pieces forward to attack and pressure your opponent, but don’t forget to also keep a few behind in case they try to attack back.
2
Surround your King to keep it protected. At the start of the game, focus on a slow start, setting up your defense. Try to move your pieces to build a wall around your King so it’s more difficult to checkmate. Defend with the pieces on one half of the board and use the pieces on the other half for your own attacks.^{[8]
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- Defensive positions are sometimes called “castles.”
Rooks, Bishops, and Knights are the easiest to set up attacks because they can target 2 pieces at once. Try to move the piece so that it could capture 2 of your opponent’s pieces next turn. Your opponent will be able to block one of your attacks, but they’ll end up sacrificing their other piece.^{[9]
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4
Drop pieces to block attacks or put pressure on your opponent. Save your captured pieces throughout the game so you have a lot of options later on when it counts. If you see your opponent setting up an attack on strong pieces or if you need to build up defenses, drop a piece onto the board to slow them down. If you want to be aggressive, drop a piece in enemy territory to slow down their progress.
- You can put the opponent’s King in check with a dropped piece as long as it isn’t a Pawn.

Section 6 of 6:

How is Shogi different from chess?

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Shogi and chess share many similarities but have a lot of differences. Shogi and chess are both strategic games that take a lot of tactical thinking to win. While they both involve capturing pieces and end when you checkmate the King, shogi is often considered a little more complex because there are more options for how to play. The key differences between the 2 games are:^{[10]
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- Shogi boards are 9 x 9 and have 81 squares, while chess boards are 8 x 8 with 64 squares.
- Pieces can return to the board after they’ve been captured in Shogi but not in chess.
- Players only have 1 Bishop and 1 Rook in Shogi, but they have 2 of each in chess.
- All pieces except for Gold Generals and Kings can be promoted in Shogi, but only pawns can be promoted in chess.
- Pawns can capture any way they move in Shogi, but they can only capture diagonally in chess.