Tabletop Mini Shogi vs Shogi Dojo
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Tabletop Mini Shogi
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Put your iPhone or iPad on the table and play shogi face to face. ABOUT MINI SHOGI Mini shogi (5×5 shogi) is a compact variant of Japanese chess played on a 5×5 board with six piece types: King, Rook, Bishop, Gold, Silver, and Pawn. The rules are the same as standard shogi, so a full game takes only a few minutes. Great for beginners and shogi fans alike. FEATURES • Two Players: place the device between you and play on one screen • Play vs AI: four levels – Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, Expert • How to Play: a hands-on tutorial and a piece-movement guide • Game review: spot mistakes on the evaluation graph, compare your move with the best move on the board, try alternative moves, flip the board • Undo the last move • Japanese and English. Choose kanji or letter pieces (K, R, B, G, S, P) in Settings • iPhone and iPad, with a wood-grain board and a dark Japanese-style design HOW TO PLAY 1. Choose Two Players or Play vs AI from the menu 2. Put the device on the table and play face to face 3. After the game, open Review to step through the moves and the evaluation graph ABOUT THE AI A fast search engine reads several moves ahead. Advanced thinks for up to 3 seconds per move; Expert searches deeper for up to 8 seconds.
Shogi Dojo
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Shogi Dojo is a shogi (Japanese chess) app for beginners, with menus and hints in English. Play against 8 AI levels, solve 1,770 tsume puzzles (mate-in-1 and mate-in-3), and climb from 15 kyu to 1 dan. New to shogi? Start at the easiest level, use hints and takebacks, and see why you lost in one short line after each game. ■ A quiet dojo on your iPhone • A kaya-wood board, calligraphy pieces, and wooden piece stands • The crisp click of a real piece, with sound and vibration • The last move is marked in soft vermilion, so you never lose track ■ 8 AI levels that grow with you • From 15 kyu for first-time players up to 1 dan • Hints and takebacks help you learn as you play • The AI moves in a few seconds, so games keep a steady pace ■ Tsume puzzles (mate problems) • 1,020 mate-in-1 and 750 mate-in-3 puzzles, played stage by stage • Pick any stage you have solved from the list to solve it again • Every new puzzle you solve adds XP toward your next rank • Missed a checkmate in your own game? Solve that position again from the review ■ Learn from every game • After a game, step through it move by move • After a loss, the review marks the move where things went wrong and tells you why in one short line, such as "You missed a checkmate" or "This move let your Rook be taken for free" ■ Ranks and a piece that grows • Start at 15 kyu and earn XP with each win; beating a stronger AI earns more, and can even jump you up several ranks at once • A loss of 20 moves or more against an equal or stronger AI still earns XP • As you rank up, your own piece grows in 8 steps, from Pawn to King ■ Coins • A hint or a takeback costs 1 coin • You get 5 coins for each win, and 50 coins for watching an optional video • Coins cannot be bought ■ Free, with ads • The app is free and shows ads. Full-screen ads appear only between games or puzzle stages, never during play • A one-time purchase removes the banner and full-screen ads • Plays fully offline. No account needed Follows the official rules of shogi, including nifu (two pawns on a file), uchifuzume (no checkmate by pawn drop), and sennichite (repetition).
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Tabletop Mini Shogi at none against Shogi Dojo's 1. Shogi Dojo's advantage is update cadence (every 5 days vs every 10 days). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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
Both are free to download. Shogi Dojo sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Tabletop Mini Shogi asks for nothing beyond the download.
Tabletop Mini Shogi ships an update every 10 days, Shogi Dojo every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 28, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Tabletop Mini Shogi | Shogi Dojo |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Every 10 days | Every 5 days — better |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 26 MB | 6 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | NIJIZO | Kenji Ido |
In-app purchases
Tabletop Mini Shogi
No in-app purchases
Shogi Dojo
- 広告除去$2.99








