Game Update
Shogi Update: Pick Your Opponent, and Pieces You Can Read
August 16, 2026 ยท Playgami
Two of the most-requested improvements for shogi beginners are live. Here's what changed.
New: Choose Your Opponent
Single player used to hand you a random bot. Now it opens with an opponent picker: eight bots ranked from Nibbles (ELO 400, Beginner) up to Magnus Jr. (ELO 2000, Expert) โ or tap Random if you still like surprises. The game remembers your last pick, so climbing the ladder one bot at a time actually feels like a ladder.
New: Western Letter Pieces
The kanji on shogi pieces is the single biggest wall for new players outside Japan. You can now flip the pieces to international letters โ from Settings, the home screen, or the button beside the board, any time, even mid-game:
| Letter | Piece | Kanji |
|---|---|---|
| K | King | ็ / ็ |
| R / +R | Rook / Dragon King | ้ฃ / ้พ |
| B / +B | Bishop / Dragon Horse | ่ง / ้ฆฌ |
| G | Gold General | ้ |
| S / +S | Silver General | ้ / ๅ จ |
| N / +N | Knight | ๆก / ๅญ |
| L / +L | Lance | ้ฆ / ๆ |
| P / +P | Pawn / Tokin | ๆญฉ / ใจ |
Promoted pieces show a "+" and stay red, the wooden koma shape and board are untouched, and the move list keeps traditional notation โ so what you learn here transfers straight to a real board. Kanji remains the default; the letters are one tap away.
Under the Hood
- Settings storage is now hardened โ a corrupted save can no longer stop the game from loading.
Play Now
Shogi is free in your browser โ no download, no sign-up.
Play Shogi โNew to the game? Read How to Play Shogi: rules, pieces & drops.