Setup
Each side starts with a king, gold, silver, bishop, rook and one pawn on a 5×5 board. The promotion zone is only the farthest rank. Sente moves first.
Minishogi
Play shogi on 5×5 squares with promotion and captured pieces returning as drops.
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Moves and captures
Kings step in any direction. Golds step in any direction except backward diagonals; silvers step forward or diagonally. Pawns move and capture one step forward. Rooks and bishops slide as in chess. Captured pieces change side, lose promotion and enter your reserve.
Winning and draws
Checkmate wins, and a player left without a legal move loses. When the same position (board, pieces in hand and side to move) occurs for the fourth time, Sente loses and Gote wins. If every move of one player in that cycle was a check, the checking player loses instead; if both players checked throughout, the game is drawn.
Special rules
Entering or leaving the last rank permits promotion: pawn and silver to gold movement, bishop adds orthogonal steps, rook adds diagonal steps. A pawn on the last rank must promote. Drops cannot place an unpromoted pawn on its last rank or on a file already containing your unpromoted pawn, and a pawn drop may not give immediate mate.
Read the full guide
Board setup, special rules and winning conditions for Minishogi.
A promoted rook can also step one square diagonally. If captured, it returns to the opponent's reserve as an ordinary rook.
A quick guide to Minishogi
Read the Minishogi rulesWhat is Minishogi?
Minishogi is a small version of Japanese shogi played on a 5×5 board. Each side has only six pieces. They are a king, gold, silver, bishop, rook and pawn. Captured pieces change sides and can later be dropped back onto the board instead of making a move. Pieces promote when entering or leaving the farthest rank. Checkmate or leaving the opponent without a legal move wins.
Who wins a repeated position in Minishogi?
Gote. When the same position (board, pieces in hand and side to move) occurs a fourth time, Sente loses. If every move of one player in that cycle was a check, the checking player loses instead; if both players checked throughout, the game is drawn.
Where can pieces promote in Minishogi?
Only on the farthest rank. A move into, out of or within that rank may promote: pawn and silver then move as gold, the bishop adds one-step orthogonal moves and the rook adds one-step diagonals. A pawn reaching the last rank must promote; silver, bishop and rook may decline.
How is Minishogi different from Shogi?
Minishogi uses a 5×5 board with six pieces per side: king, gold, silver, bishop, rook and one pawn, with no knights or lances. The promotion zone is only the last rank. Drops, the two-pawn rule and the pawn-drop-mate ban work as in Shogi, but a fourfold repetition is a loss for Sente.
How can I play with a friend?
Share one device for a local game, or choose the friend option above to create an online room and send its invitation. Online games need an internet connection. Local games are saved in this browser.
Play Minishogi on one deviceWhich rules apply here?
Minishogi. Read the setup, legal moves, special rules and end conditions before starting. The guide describes the variant used on ChessPlayX, including differences from other versions where relevant.
Read the Minishogi rulesCan I play against AI?
Choose AI mode to practice at your own pace. Start with a lower difficulty while learning the moves, then increase it when you can spot threats and plan your replies.