Shogi Demon vs Root Down
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Shogi Demon
Experience Japanese Chess with unique rules like piece reuse and promotion. Offers a guide for piece movement, multiple computer difficulty levels, handicaps, and a position editor.
- Piece reuse from opponent
- Piece promotion with increased movement
- Movement guide for pieces
- Four computer difficulty levels
- 22 handicap options
- Position editor
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Shogi is Japanese Chess. The difference between this and regular Chess is that the player is allowed to reuse the pieces captured from the opponent for themselves. With exceptions to the King and the Gold, any pieces that enter the zone of the opponent can be turned over to increase their range of movement. Positioning 2 or more Pawns on a vertical line is not permitted if the Pawns are not turned over. Also, although it is possible to put a King in mate with your own Pawn, it is not permitted to put a King in mate with a Pawn captured from your opponent. This is because such act is an insult to the King. - There is a guide that informs player of a possible movement of the pieces. - Four computer levels. - 22 kinds of handicaps. - Position editor.
Root Down
An original abstract strategy game for two players with unique movement rules. Figure out how to move your pieces to capture your opponent's and win. Offers AI play and pass-and-play modes with variable setups.
- Abstract strategy gameplay
- Unique piece movement rules
- AI opponent
- Pass-and-play mode
- Variable game setups
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Root Down is an original abstract strategy game designed by Martin Grider for 2-players. It's rules about which pieces you can move are a little quirky, but once you figure it out, it's very quick to play, and has some interesting gameplay mechanics. In Root Down, you have two types of pieces. There are "kicker" pieces that must be next to a "root" piece to move. (Root pieces cannot move.) Kickers can only move exactly as far as the number of kickers next to the root. After a kicker moves, it "kicks" all of the neighboring pieces, then settles down into a new "root" piece. If you kick one of your own root pieces, it becomes another "kicker"! Kicking an opponent's root does the same, and if you kick it again before it has a chance to move, you'll to capture it! The game features an AI player, as well as pass-and-play options. There are several variable setups to chose from. Each one plays slightly different. Please use the "send feedback" button to send me your input, or email me: rootdown@abstractpuzzle.com
Screenshots
Verdict
Shogi Demon and Root Down both sit at 4.0 stars, but that hides the real split: 100% of Root Down's written reviews are positive against 40% of Shogi Demon's. Root Down also leads on price (Free vs $1.99). Shogi Demon's advantage is update cadence (every 5 months vs every 27 months). On rating, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Root Down is free to download; Shogi Demon costs $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.0 for Shogi Demon against 4.0 for Root Down. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 3 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 40% of Shogi Demon's written reviews are positive against 100% of Root Down's.
Shogi Demon ships an update every 5 months, Root Down every 27 months. The most recent releases landed on September 27, 2026 and June 7, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Shogi Demon | Root Down |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $1.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.0 (2 ratings) | 4.0 (3 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 40.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 2 | 3 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months — better | Every 27 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad — better |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 17.4 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 15 MB | 1 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | NUTRACTOR | Martin Grider |
Customer experience
Shogi Demon
Root Down
In-app purchases
Shogi Demon
No in-app purchases
Root Down
No in-app purchases
