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Gunjin Shogi Strategy and Tips

Here is how to think about winning at Gunjin Shogi, split into short lessons. Each one reads on its own, and each one comes with a real position: press Try it on the board and you play the move yourself.

Only the Spy beats the General

Lesson 1

There is one exception to the win chart. The Spy loses to every piece except the General, and beats only the General. The General, in turn, beats every other piece but loses to the Spy alone. Whichever side attacks, General versus Spy always ends the same way: the Spy wins.

Here a face-down enemy piece sits across the bridge. For practice, that piece is the enemy General. Attack it with your Spy, and you remove the General without ever revealing what your own piece was.

The Spy loses to everything but the General, so don't send it forward carelessly. Save it for a moment like this one, when you suspect a high officer is waiting across the bridge.

Probe with a cheap piece

Lesson 2

You can't tell what a face-down piece across the bridge is. Attack it with a valuable piece first, and a strong enemy costs you dearly. Send a cheap piece in instead, one you won't miss, and let the result tell you what's there.

Here a face-down piece waits across the bridge. Attack with your Second Lieutenant — one of the weakest pieces on the board, so losing it barely costs you anything.

For practice, that piece turns out to be a Captain. Your Second Lieutenant loses, but now you know it's Captain-rank or higher, so you won't carelessly walk a valuable piece into that square later. A cheap sacrifice that buys information is rarely a bad trade.

Tanks jump an empty square to reach two ahead

Lesson 3

Tanks and Cavalry have a move nothing else on the board has. If the square directly ahead is empty, they can jump straight over it and land two squares ahead in one move. Because it only needs one empty square in between, this reach is easy to miss.

Here the square directly ahead of your Tank is empty, and a face-down enemy piece sits two squares beyond it. For practice, that piece is a Second Lieutenant. With the gap in place, your Tank can jump it and strike.

It's easy to assume a single empty square ahead means nothing is in reach, but Tanks and Cavalry don't stop there. Whenever you spot an empty square in front of one, check whether there's a target two squares beyond it too.

Don't leave the General standing at a bridge

Lesson 4

The General loses only to the Spy, but you can never be sure whether a face-down enemy piece is one. Leave your General standing right at a bridge, and an unidentified piece could reach it in a single move.

Here your General is standing at the foot of a bridge. For practice, the face-down piece across it is a Spy. Leave things as they are, and your opponent takes the General on their very next turn.

Pull the General back to the glowing square, away from the bridge. Attacking an unidentified piece with your General is risky too — even when it isn't the Spy, you can't be sure you'd win. Keep the General deep in your own camp, and only bring it forward once the way is safe.

Try it on the board

Pick a lesson and the board starts from that position. Start over as often as you like.

Now put it to work

Play with friendsLearn how to play (3 min)

Last updated 2026-09-19 · Run by Qdan, Inc.