Must-Capture Shogi: Rules and How to Play
Must-capture shogi is shogi for 2 players, about 10 minutes, where you must take an enemy piece whenever you can. Pieces move as in shogi. Free in your browser, no sign-up.
Objective
Must-capture shogi is shogi with one extra rule: if you can capture an enemy piece, you have to. Win by checkmate or by leaving your opponent with no legal move.
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.
- If moving a piece onto an enemy piece is available to you at all, you must play one of those captures. When two or more are available, you choose which piece captures, and which way (promoting or not).
- Only when no capture is available may you play a non-capturing move — a plain move or a drop. The exception is when your own king is in check: then you may also meet the check without capturing (a setting makes captures take priority even in check).
- You may not leave your king open to capture. Two pawns on a file, dropping a pawn to give mate and pieces with no further move are illegal, as in shogi.
Winning and scoring
- Checkmate wins, as in shogi, and so does leaving your opponent with no legal move.
- 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| King captures firstKing captures firstIn Toru-itte Shogi, whenever you can capture an enemy piece you must capture something. With this setting on, if your king can capture, you must capture with the king, so offering a piece to lure the king out becomes a tactic. | When your king can capture, you must capture with the king. With “May flee from check” on, you may answer a check without capturing with the king. | Off | Yes |
| May flee from checkMay flee from checkOn (the default): when you are in check you are free of the capture duty, so you may move the king away or block as in regular shogi. Off: even in check, if some capture gets you out of check, you must play a capture. | When you are in check, you may play any legal move, not only a capture. | On | 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
- Must-capture
- The rule that, whenever a capture is available, you must play one of the capturing moves.
- Capture
- Moving a board piece onto a square held by an enemy piece. Dropping a piece never counts as a capture.
- Checkmate
- A check that cannot be answered. As in shogi, it wins.
FAQ
Can I choose which capture to play?
Yes. If several captures are available you pick which piece takes, and whether to promote. You just can't decline all of them.
Can I drop a piece to block a check instead of capturing?
By default, you may drop a piece to block a check. With “May flee from check” off, if a legal capture answers the check, you must choose one of those captures.
Am I forced to capture even when I'm in check?
By default, no: any legal move that answers the check is allowed, including moving the king or blocking without a capture. With “May flee from check” off, you must choose a legal capture if one answers the check. In either setting, you must answer the check.
Play now with these rules
Last updated 2026-09-25 · Run by Qdan, Inc.