Shogi Online — Japanese Chess Where Captured Pieces Come Back 6+

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Shogi is Japanese chess, and it has one great difference from the Western game: a captured piece does not leave the board. It goes into the hand of whoever took it, and can be dropped back onto any empty square as a whole move. Trading pieces never simplifies the position — it arms your opponent.

Because that is a lot to hold at once, the 80 levels bring the rules in one at a time: first a small 5×5 board with moves only, then the hand and drops, then promotion in the far rows, and finally full boards — 7×7 and 9×9 — with everything switched on and a deterministic opponent answering each move.

How to play

Tap one of your pieces at the bottom of the board — the squares it may reach light up.
Tap a lit square to move; landing on an enemy piece captures it and sends it to your side table.
Tap a piece on your side table, then an empty square, to drop it back into play as your move.
Reach the goal written in the header — usually trapping the shadow king in the given number of moves.

What your child learns

Real shogi rules: drops from hand, promotion in the last three rows, the lance and the forward-only knight, no two pawns on one file, no mate by dropping a pawn.
Counting the opponent's replies, including the pieces they hold in hand.
Losing the habit of "I captured it, so I am ahead" — in shogi that piece can come back.
Planning two and three moves deep on a board that never empties out.

The science behind the games

Every Dad4Kids game is built on one simple truth: children want to play, not study — so we turn learning into a game worth replaying. The method draws on peer-reviewed research in game-based learning, motivation, and how memory works.

FAQ

What makes shogi different from chess?

A captured piece is not removed from the game. It joins your hand and you may drop it back onto any empty square as a move. That is why shogi positions stay crowded and sharp to the very end.

Isn't shogi too hard for a child?

It is the hardest game of our board family, which is why the ladder never shows all the rules at once: forty levels on a small 5×5 board with no drops at all, then drops, then promotion, and only then full games.

Do I need to read Japanese characters?

No. Each piece is a figure with its own silhouette and its own strike, so a gold general is told from a silver by shape, not by a written character.

Is there a single right answer to each level?

Yes. Every level is checked by a solver before it ships: one solution, and none shorter. If a move is illegal the board says so and takes it back instead of losing the level for you.

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By Evgeny Arsentiev, PhD · Last updated: September 2026