Capital Return Shogi: Rules and How to Play
Capital return shogi is shogi for 2, about 15 minutes, where holding too many captured pieces makes you lose at once. Moves and promotion are as in shogi. Free in your browser, no sign-up.
Objective
Capital return shogi is a shogi variant where holding too many captured pieces makes you lose. The goal of checkmating the enemy king stays the same, but your hand of captured pieces also has a limit.
Setup
- Use a 9×9 shogi board and the usual 40 pieces, set up as in shogi.
- 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, promotion and drops are exactly as in shogi.
- Capturing an enemy piece adds it to your hand. The instant your hand total passes the limit (4 by default, or 5 in the settings), you lose on the spot.
- You may not leave your king open to capture. Two pawns on a file, pieces with no further move and mate by a dropped pawn 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 your own hand total passes the limit, you lose immediately (your opponent wins).
- If the same position appears four times the game is a draw and is replayed. Repeated checks lose for the checking side.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hand limitHand limitIn Shihon Kangen Shogi, you lose the moment the total number of pieces in your hand goes over this number. With "Up to 4", taking a fifth piece loses at once, so you have to drop captured pieces early. "Up to 5" gives a little more room, so trades are easier. | Choose the cap on your hand's total piece count. | 4 pieces | Yes |
| 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
- Hand limit
- The cap on your hand's total piece count. The default is 4. Passing it is an immediate loss.
- Material gain
- Capturing an enemy piece. Here, capturing too much can work against you.
- No-move piece
- A piece placed where it could never move again (a pawn or lance on the last rank, a knight on the last two ranks). Illegal, as in shogi.
FAQ
How many captured pieces lose the game?
By default, holding a 5th piece (a total over 4) loses at once. The setting can raise the cap to 5.
Do I have to drop captured pieces right away?
You do not have to drop a piece immediately. When your hand is exactly at the limit, one more capture loses the game. Dropping one on an earlier turn reduces the total by one, so the next capture stays within the limit.
Is there a trick of giving pieces away?
Yes. Deliberately letting your opponent capture pieces they don't need, to push their hand over the limit, is a valid tactic.
Play now with these rules
Last updated 2026-09-25 · Run by Qdan, Inc.