The King's Game

Game components

Ōgi is played by two players sitting face to face over an 8×8 board, for a total of 64 squares. In the tradition of Japanese board games, the players are called 先手(Sente), the player who moves first, and 後手(Gote), the player who moves second.

In the West, Sente and Gote are often referred to as Black and White, with Black making the first move.

Each player starts the game with 18 pieces. These pieces are flat, pentagonal in shape with an irregular outline, and reminiscent of an arrowhead. They come in several slightly different sizes. The pieces for both players are identical in appearance; only the pointed end, facing toward the opponent's side, shows which player they belong to. The pieces, from the most important (largest) to the least important (smallest), are as follows :

• 1 King
• 1 Princess
• 1 Rook
• 1 Bishop
• 2 Silver Generals
• 2 Knights
• 2 Lances
• 8 Pawns

Each piece bears its name in kanji, written in black ink. With the exception of the King, a second character is written on the reverse side, corresponding to its promoted state. When a piece is turned to that side during play, it means it has been promoted and now has different movement capabilities.

Example with the Rook:

Unpromoted side (front)

Promoted side (back)

The character 王 represents the King for the higher-ranked player or the reigning champion, while the character 玉 represents the King for the lower-ranked player or the challenger. The choice of one character or the other is independent of whether the player is Sente or Gote.

Below is the list of pieces, their Japanese names, and their English equivalents. These abbreviations are commonly used in game notation and when referring to the pieces in conversation.

Pieces

	Unpromoted				Promoted
Name	Abbrev.		Image		Abbrev.		Image
King	K	王
Princess	I	姫			+I	神
Rook	R	飛			+R	龍
Bishop	B	角			+B	馬
Silver General	S	銀			+S	全
Knight	N	桂			+N	圭
Lance	L	香			+L	杏
Pawn	P	歩			+P	と

Game rules

Objective

The goal of the game is to win by putting the opponent's King in checkmate, or by achieving another victory condition provided for in the rules (for example, the opponent's resignation).

Setup

At the beginning of the game, both players place their pieces on the board, each one pointing toward the opponent's side.

The starting position is as follows:

Starting position of an Ōgi game.

Unless otherwise specified, board diagrams are shown from Sente's point of view, seated at the bottom of the diagram.

First player's camp (Sente)

• Rank 1 : Lance, Knight, Silver General, Princess, King, Silver General, Knight, Lance.
• Rank 2 : one Bishop and one Rook; all other squares are empty.
• Rank 3 : one Pawn on every square.

Second player's camp (Gote)

• Rank 8 : Lance, Knight, Silver General, Princess, King, Silver General, Knight, Lance.
• Rank 7 : one Rook and one Bishop; all other squares are empty.
• Rank 6 : one Pawn on every square.

Handicap game

A handicap game is a game in which the stronger player voluntarily gives a material advantage to their opponent in order to balance the chances of winning.

The handicap

In Ōgi, this handicap usually takes the form of one or more pieces being promoted before the game begins.

Example

In the example below, Gote (the stronger player) has given a handicap to Sente (the weaker player) by allowing them to start with their Rook and Bishop already promoted.

Sente starts the game with their Bishop and Rook promoted.

Piece movement

On each turn, a player may either move a piece that is already on the board (this move may result in a promotion, a capture, or both), or place back on the board a piece that was previously captured. Players alternate turns: as soon as one move is made, it is the other player's turn.

King

King movement

The King (玉/王) moves one square per turn in any direction (forward, backward, left, right, or diagonally) and captures in the same way.

Princess

Princess movement

The Princess (姫) moves like a Bishop or like a Knight: it may either slide any number of squares diagonally, or jump in an “L” shape (two squares in one direction and then one square perpendicular), in any direction, and captures in the same way.

Promoted Princess

Promoted Princess movement

The Promoted Princess (神) keeps all of the Princess's movement (Bishop diagonals and Knight jumps) and additionally gains the ability to move one square orthogonally— forward, backward, left, or right—and captures in the same way.

Rook

Rook movement

A Rook (飛) moves any number of squares in a straight line along a single rank or file, without ever jumping over another piece. It captures by ending its move on the opponent's piece.

Promoted Rook

Promoted Rook movement

A Promoted Rook (龍) keeps all of the Rook's movement and additionally gains the ability to move one square diagonally in any direction, and captures in the same way.

Bishop

Bishop movement

A Bishop (角) moves diagonally any number of squares it wishes, without jumping over other pieces, and captures by stopping on the opponent's piece.

Promoted Bishop

Promoted Bishop movement

A Promoted Bishop (馬) keeps all of the Bishop's movement and additionally gains the ability to move one square in a straight line along a rank or file. It captures in the same way.

Silver General

Silver General movement

A Silver General (銀) moves one square diagonally (forward or backward), or one square straight forward, for a total of up to five possible destinations. It cannot move horizontally, nor can it move straight backward.

Promoted Silver General

Promoted Silver General movement

A Promoted Silver General (全) moves one square orthogonally in any direction, or one square diagonally forward, for a total of up to six possible destinations. It cannot move diagonally backward.

Knight

Knight movement

A Knight (桂) moves by jumping: it advances two squares straight forward, then one square to the left or right, in a single move. It can only move forward and therefore has at most two possible destination squares. Unlike the knight in Western chess, it cannot move sideways or backward. It is the only piece that ignores intervening pieces: it is not blocked by a piece directly in front of it, but it also cannot capture that piece as it jumps over.

Promoted Knight

Promoted Knight movement

A Promoted Knight (圭) moves exactly like a Promoted Silver General. Unlike the unpromoted Knight, it no longer jumps over pieces.

Lance

Lance movement

A Lance (香) moves any number of squares straight forward along its file. It cannot move backward or sideways, and it never jumps over other pieces. It captures by ending its move on the opponent's piece.

Promoted Lance

Promoted Lance movement

A Promoted Lance (杏) moves in exactly the same way as a Promoted Silver General.

Pawn

Pawn movement

A Pawn (歩) moves a single square straight forward along its file and can never move backward. It captures in the same way: by advancing one square onto an opposing piece.

Promoted Pawn

Promoted Pawn movement

A Promoted Pawn (と) moves in exactly the same way as a Promoted Silver General (全): one square forward, backward, left, or right, or one square diagonally forward, but never diagonally backward.

Promotion

A player's promotion zone consists of the three furthest ranks on the opponent's side of the board, that is, the ranks where the opponent's pieces are placed at the beginning of the game. When a piece enters this zone, moves within it, or leaves it as part of a move (but not when it is dropped), it may be promoted at the end of that move. Promotion is indicated by flipping the piece to reveal the character on its promoted side.

In some cases, however, promotion becomes mandatory: if a piece would reach a square from which it could no longer make any legal move on a later turn without being promoted, then it must be promoted.

Sente's promotion zone (in yellow)

Captures and pieces in hand

When a piece is captured, it does not leave the game permanently: it is moved to the capturing player's reserve; we say the piece is held in hand. In Japanese, such pieces are called 持ち駒(mochigoma) or 手駒(tegoma).

Instead of moving a piece already on the board, a player may, on their turn, drop a piece they have in hand: they place it on any empty square, with its unpromoted side face up. The piece then joins the player's active forces on the board. Each drop counts as a full move.

When a promoted piece is captured, it must revert to its unpromoted state in the player's hand. For example, if a promoted Silver General is captured, it is kept in hand as an unpromoted Silver General.

However, when the King captures a promoted piece, the player has a choice : they can revert it to its initial state or exercise the Royal Prerogative to keep it in its promoted form.

A drop does not allow you to capture an opposing piece (the destination square must be empty), nor does it allow you to promote the piece immediately, even if it is dropped into the promotion zone. From that point on, however, that piece can capture and be promoted on its subsequent moves, just like any other piece in play.

Restrictions on drops

Some pieces cannot be dropped just anywhere on the board. The following restrictions apply:

• No-move pieces (行き所のない駒(ikidokorononaikoma)): Lances and Knights may not be dropped on the last rank (8^th), and Knights may also not be dropped on the second-to-last rank (7^th). From those positions, their strictly forward movement would leave them with no legal move on a later turn.
• Unpromoted Pawns: Unpromoted Pawns may never be dropped. However, a promoted Pawn captured by the King (and therefore kept in its promoted form) may be dropped.

Check

A King is in check (王手(ōte)) when it could be captured on the next move if the player does nothing. In that situation, the player must make a move that removes the threat.

In practice, check is not usually announced aloud (except sometimes between casual players). To defend, the player may move their King to a safe square, capture the checking piece, or interpose another piece between the threat and the King. If no legal defense exists, the position is considered checkmate (王手詰め(ōte-zume)), and the player loses the game.

End of the game

Most Ōgi games end in checkmate or by the resignation of the player in a losing position. Since captured pieces remain available in hand and can be dropped back onto the board, players often have enough material to construct a mate.

A game can also end in a repetition (when the same position repeats over and over) or as a result of an illegal move. In such cases, depending on the rules agreed upon beforehand, the game may be declared a draw, replayed, or lost by the player who committed the infraction.

Cultural narrative and urban legend

Ōgi preserves the core principles of Shōgi, but differs in that it is framed by a contemporary narrative rather than by documented historical origins. The game was formalized and named by French author Cyril Veltin, who relates having discovered it while observing a strange game being played one summer evening in an Ōsaka park.

At the heart of this cultural narrative lies an urban legend involving a yōkai named Komayō, who is said to invite players, from time to time, to a game of Ōgi under the moonlight.

Some players claim to have glimpsed her. Others claim not to believe.