Shogi Academy

Shogi Academy is a complete way to learn and play shogi — Japanese chess — from your very first move to real games against a thinking opponent. LEARN EVERY PIECE Step-by-step interactive lessons teach how every piece moves and promotes: Pawn, Lance, Knight, Silver, Gold, Bishop, Rook, and King, plus the Tokin, promoted Silver, Knight, and Lance, the Horse, and the Dragon. You don't just read the rules — you make the moves yourself and the board guides you. THE RULES THAT MAKE SHOGI SPECIAL Capture a piece and it joins your hand — then drop it back onto the board as your own. Dedicated lessons cover the promotion zone, drops, and the two drop rules newcomers always miss (nifu and uchifuzume), so nothing about the game stays mysterious. CLIMB THE RANKED LADDER Five distinct opponents take you from 15-Kyo up to 1-Dan. Each one is genuinely stronger than the last — searching deeper, blundering less, and defending more precisely. Defeat your current opponent to unlock the next rung and measure your progress. 500 MATING PUZZLES Test your mettle with 500 forced-checkmate problems — 100 per rank, from mate-in-1 to mate-in-5. Every move you try is checked, and the defender always plays its toughest resistance, so a solved puzzle is a real win. Track how many you have cracked at each rank. PLAY A FRIEND, FACE TO FACE Nearby Match links two nearby devices directly — no account, no server, no setup. One person hosts, the other joins, and you are playing in seconds. OPENINGS, CASTLES, AND MATES Walk through classic openings (Static Rook and Ranging Rook), build the Yagura castle, learn the essential Head-Gold mate, and read a short guide to the principles of winning shogi. FREE PRACTICE Play any rank in a relaxed mode that does not affect your ladder progress — perfect for trying ideas. Beautiful, distraction-free, and fully playable offline, with no ads and no tracking. Whether you have never touched a shogi board or you are returning to sharpen up, Shogi Academy meets you where you are.