Minishogi (5×5 Shogi)Free, no sign-up

A small version of shogi (Japanese chess) played on a 5×5 board. Each side has one king, gold, silver, bishop, rook and pawn — no lances or knights. Piece moves, drops and promotion work just like regular shogi, so it's a great way to learn shogi or to play a quick game. You move first, from the bottom.

The pawn (歩) moves one square forward. The silver (銀) moves forward or diagonally in 5 directions; the gold (金) moves forward, diagonally forward, sideways or straight back in 6 directions. The bishop (角) moves any distance diagonally, the rook (飛) any distance straight, and the king (玉) one square in any direction. When promoted, the pawn becomes a tokin and the silver a promoted silver (全), both moving like a gold; the bishop becomes a horse (馬: diagonal plus one square straight) and the rook a dragon (龍: straight plus one square diagonally).

The promotion zone is only the far rank. A move into or out of it may promote (pawns must promote). Captured pieces go to your hand and can be dropped on any empty square. Two of your own unpromoted pawns on the same file (nifu), checkmating with a pawn drop, and dropping a pawn where it could never move are fouls, so this board doesn't let you choose them.

If the same position appears four times, it's sennichite, and under the Minishogi rules the first player (you) loses. But if it came from one side giving check every move, the side giving check loses.

Easy looks 2 moves ahead and Normal looks 4 moves ahead, then follows every capture to the end. Only wins are recorded, scored as 200 minus your number of moves. Highest score first; ties go to the shorter time. The server replays your game, including the computer's replies, to verify it.