Hana
“The Spark”
Attacks from move one
I don't do defense. Hope you brought a castle!
Japanese chess · iPhone & Android
Beat 8 rivals.
Master shogi.
Shogi is Japanese chess where captured pieces switch sides and come back. Learn the rules in 3 minutes, climb the Rival Road against eight AI opponents with real personalities, and get every game explained in plain English.
Play in your browserComing soon · free, no ads
8AI rivals20interactive lessons10,000tsume puzzles0ads
I don't do defense. Hope you brought a castle!
Hanano pieces in hand
Youno pieces in hand
What is shogi?
Chess, but nothing stays captured
Shogi is the 400-year-old Japanese cousin of chess, played by millions in Japan. Same goal — checkmate the king — with three twists that make every game a comeback story.
Drops
Take a piece and it joins your army. On any later turn you can drop it back onto the board — almost anywhere.
Promotion
Reach the far three rows and most pieces flip over to become stronger. A pawn becomes a gold; a rook becomes a dragon.
Always decisive
Because pieces keep returning, games rarely fizzle into draws. Attacks come fast — and so do counter-attacks.
Pieces show English letters (K R B G S N L P) by default, with kanji as an option — you never need to read Japanese. Learn how to play shogi →
The Rival Road
Meet your 8 rivals
No empty lobbies, no waiting. Each rival plays a real style — beat them one by one, earn stars and unlock chests.
Kenji
“The Wall”
Loves to defend
Knock all you want. The door stays shut.
Mika
“Swing Queen”
Ranging Rook fan
Watch my rook swing — then watch your plan fall apart.
Sato
“The Purist”
Static Rook only
The rook stays home. Classic is classic.
Kuma
“The Bear”
Builds the Anaguma fortress
I'll be in my den. Come dig me out.
Rin
“Rush”
Rapid attacks
Blink and it's over.
Taro
“Book Worm”
Great openings, shaky endings
I know forty moves of theory. Move forty-one? Let's not talk about it.
Gen
“Old Master”
Endgame monster
The game begins when the pieces start falling, child.
Battle Hana now — freePlus levels 1–10 and handicap games in the app.
AI game review · in English
Know why you lost
After every game a strong engine finds the turning points, and the review explains them in plain English — what you missed, what the opponent wanted, and which lesson fixes it.
- Accuracy score, best/good/mistake counts and an advantage graph
- Key moments with the better move shown on the board
- “Learn it” links jump straight to the right lesson
- Free: one explained game every day. PRO: every online game reviewed
Match recap · Victory vs Kenji
Your accuracy
84.2
Kenji
71.6
Key moment · move 21
21. S-4g?! Inaccuracy · −140
Best was K-6h. Castle first — in the Bishop Exchange, a dropped bishop can hit a king still sitting on 5i.
Learn it: Castles · Yagura · 8 min
Lessons
From zero to first win
20 interactive lessons in English: you move the pieces, the board checks your answer. Start with the rules, then tactics, castles, openings and endgames.
- 1How the pieces move
Rules · 6 min · Free
- 2Captures and drops
Rules · Free
- 3Promotion
Rules · Free
- 4Check and mate
Rules · Free
- 5Forks, pins & skewers → castles → openings → endgames
16 more lessons · first of each chapter free
Daily tsume shogi
One puzzle a day keeps the blunders away
Tsume shogi are checkmate puzzles. A new one every day on this site, and 10,000 more in the app — mate in 3 up to mate in 11, with puzzle ratings, rush mode and streaks.
- 10,000 puzzles, every one checked by the engine
- Puzzle Rush: 3 min, 5 min or survival
- Missed one? It comes back for review later
- Works offline — on the train, on a plane
Free vs PRO
Play free. Pay only to learn faster.
Every game mode is free forever. PRO removes the daily limits on learning and analysis. There are no ads in either.
| Feature | Free | PRO |
|---|---|---|
| 8 AI rivals, levels 1–10, 7 handicaps | ✓ | ✓ |
| Online games, correspondence, tournaments, clubs | ✓ | ✓ |
| Hints vs AI | 3 a day | Unlimited |
| Tsume & next-move puzzles | 10 a day + daily + 1 rush | Unlimited |
| Lessons | Rules + first of each chapter | All 20 |
| English AI game review | 1 explained game a day | Every online game + 10 deep reviews a day |
| Cloud engine analysis | On-device engine | 200 positions a day |
| Ads | None | None |
FAQ
Questions
I've never played shogi. Is this for me?
Yes — that's who it's built for. A 3-minute interactive intro teaches how the pieces move, drops, promotion and checkmate. Then Hana, the first rival, is tuned so that new players can beat her.
Do I need to read Japanese?
No. Pieces show English letters (K, R, B, G, S, N, L, P) and moves use Western notation like P-7f. You can switch to kanji pieces whenever you like.
Are there ads?
No ads, ever — not in the free version either. The app is paid for by an optional PRO subscription and cosmetic board and piece themes. Strength is never for sale.
Does it work offline?
Yes. Games against the AI, puzzles, lessons, the opening library and the analysis board all work without a connection. Online games and reviews sync when you're back.
I play chess. How different is shogi?
The king, rook and bishop will feel familiar. The big change is drops: captured pieces come back on your side, so attacks never run dry and endgames stay sharp. Most chess players are playing real games within an hour.
Is it free?
Every game mode is free: AI rivals, online play, tournaments and clubs. PRO removes daily limits on puzzles, lessons, hints and AI reviews.
When can I download it?
Soon. The app is coming to iPhone and Android, on the App Store and Google Play. Meanwhile you can play a game in your browser.
The Rival Road is waiting
Free on iPhone and Android. Coming soon to the App Store and Google Play.
On Android? Pre-register on Google Play and the app installs itself on launch day. · Privacy