What is Minishogi?

Minishogi is a small variant of shogi, Japanese chess, played on 5×5 squares with six pieces a side. It keeps the feature that defines shogi: captured pieces change sides and can be brought back. It was developed by Shigenobu Kusumoto in the 1970s, and games last around ten minutes.

How to play

• Checkmate the enemy king to win.
• Each side has a king, gold, silver, bishop, rook and pawn. Dots on each piece show its moves, and larger dots show that it can slide any distance.
• Drops: a captured piece goes to your hand. On your turn, you may place it on an empty square instead of moving.
• Promotion: a piece moving into, within or out of the far rank may promote. A pawn on the far rank must. Promoted pieces show a red character.
• Pawn limits: no two unpromoted pawns of yours on a file, no pawn dropped on the far rank and no checkmate by pawn drop.

Strategy

• With only five files, the fight starts on the first move. Count attackers before each exchange.
• Pieces in hand are often stronger than on the board, because they can appear anywhere.
• A promoted bishop or rook near the enemy king often settles the game.

Ways to play

• Against the computer: four levels. Wins raise your rating, which sets your place on the leaderboard.
• Quick match: an online opponent, with a computer player stepping in if nobody is around.
• Play a friend: make a private room and send the code or link.
• One screen: two players take turns on the same device.

FAQ

What do the characters on the pieces mean? 王 king, 金 gold, 銀 silver, 角 bishop, 飛 rook and 歩 pawn. In red: 全 promoted silver, 馬 dragon horse, 龍 dragon king and と promoted pawn.

Do I need to read Japanese to play? No. The dots on each piece show how it moves, and the board highlights every legal square.

How is Minishogi different from chess? Captured pieces return to play on your side, so positions rarely get simpler as the game goes on.