Minishogi: Rules and How to Play
Minishogi is shogi on a 5×5 board for 2 players, about 10 minutes. Six pieces each move as in shogi, with drops. Checkmate the enemy king to win. Free in your browser, no sign-up.
Objective
Minishogi is shogi played on a 5×5 board. Checkmate the enemy king to win.
Setup
- Use a 5×5 board. Each player has six pieces: king, rook, bishop, gold, silver and pawn.
- On your nearest rank place, from left to right, king, gold, silver, bishop and rook, with the pawn in front of the king. Your opponent sets up the same way facing you.
- Black moves first and the players alternate. When you play again, Black and White swap (you can turn this off).
How to play
- On your turn, move one piece on the board or drop one piece from your hand. Moves and drops are exactly as in shogi.
- A piece may promote only when it moves into, within or out of the far rank. A pawn reaching the far rank must promote.
- Two pawns on a file, dropping a pawn to give mate, pieces with no further move and leaving your king open to capture are illegal, as in shogi.
Winning and scoring
- Checkmate the enemy king to win. You also win if your opponent has no legal move.
- If the same position appears four times, White wins.
- A player who repeats by giving check every move loses.
Defaults on this site
| Item | Default on this site |
|---|---|
| Players | 2 players (set automatically by the party size) |
| Turn time limit | None by default (the host can set 30 or 60 seconds) |
| If someone drops mid-game | Reopening on the same device returns you to your seat. If you do not return, the CPU plays in your place. |
| Draws | In ranked play, a draw counts as halfway between a win and a loss for your rating. |
| Source of the rules | Based on the standard reference rules |
Rules supervised by Qdan, Inc. (based on the standard reference rules)
House rules
Defaults follow the standard reference rules. The party can change these.
| Name | Description | Default | Changeable |
|---|---|---|---|
| Show legal squares | Mark the squares a selected piece can reach. | On | Yes |
| Swap who starts | Swap who plays Black after each game. | On | Yes |
| Move limit | Draw the game once this many moves have been played. For tables that want to cut a long game short. | None | Yes |
Terms
- Promotion zone
- The rank where pieces may promote. In minishogi it is only the far rank.
- Repetition
- The same position appearing four times. In minishogi it is a win for White.
- Checkmate
- A check that cannot be answered. It wins the game.
FAQ
Are there knights and lances?
No. The pieces are king, rook, bishop, gold, silver and pawn.
Where can pieces promote?
Only on the far rank — moving into it, within it or out of it.
What happens on repetition?
White wins, unless the repetition comes from Black checking every move, in which case the checking player loses.
Play now with these rules
Last updated 2026-09-25 · Run by Qdan, Inc.