Dōbutsu shōgi facts for kids
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Dōbutsu shōgi (which means "animal chess" in Japanese) is a fun, smaller version of the game shogi, made especially for younger players. It was created by a professional women's shogi player named Madoka Kitao. One of her goals was to encourage more young girls to try shogi.
This game is played on a tiny 3x4 board. It follows most of the rules of regular shogi, like being able to "drop" captured pieces back onto the board. However, in Dōbutsu shōgi, pieces can only move one square at a time. Also, you can win in two ways: by capturing your opponent's main piece (the Lion), or by moving your own Lion all the way to the other side of the board.
The game pieces look like children's blocks and have cute cartoon animals on them instead of the usual Japanese characters. They often have dots on the sides to show you exactly where each piece can move! Outside of Japan, this game is also known as "Let's Catch the Lion!"
How to Play
| g | l | e |
| c | ||
| C | ||
| E | L | G |
Each player starts the game with four special animal pieces:
- A Lion (this is like the king in chess) in the middle of your back row, which is called the "forest."
- A Giraffe (like a rook) to the right of your Lion.
- An Elephant (like a bishop) to the left of your Lion.
- A Chick (like a pawn) right in front of your Lion.
All pieces move just like they would in standard shogi, but they can only move one square in any direction per turn.
If your Chick piece moves two squares forward and reaches the very last row (which is called the "sky" for your side), it gets promoted! It turns into a Hen. A Hen can move one square in any direction, except diagonally backward.
Just like in shogi, if your Hen is captured by your opponent, it goes back into your "hand." When you drop it back onto the board, it becomes a Chick again. Some of the usual rules about where you can drop a Chick don't apply in Dōbutsu shōgi. For example, you can drop a Chick to immediately win the game, or have two Chicks in the same column. However, if you drop a Chick on the very last row, it won't promote to a Hen right away. It also can't move until it's captured and dropped again.
The game can end in a draw if the same board position happens three times in a row. Also, if one player keeps checking the other's Lion over and over again (called "perpetual check"), it's also a draw.
You can win the game in two main ways:
- By "catching" (capturing) your opponent's Lion.
- By moving your own Lion all the way to the opponent's starting row (the "promotion zone"), as long as your Lion isn't in check when it gets there.
Game Strategy
Even though Dōbutsu shōgi is a simple game, experts have studied it a lot! They've figured out the best moves for almost every possible situation. It turns out that the second player to move (often called "White") actually has a winning strategy right from the start! This means the first player ("Black") is at a small disadvantage.
In general, the Giraffe piece is often considered stronger than the Elephant. Also, having captured pieces ready to "drop" back onto the board is a big advantage in this game.
Other Versions
| cat | dog | lion | dog | cat |
| chick | chick | chick | ||
| chick | chick | chick | ||
| cat | dog | lion | dog | cat |
There's a bigger version of the game called goro goro dōbutsu shōgi. It's played on a 5x6 board and uses more pieces, 16 in total! Each player gets:
- 3 Chicks (pawns)
- 2 Cats (like silver generals)
- 2 Dogs (like gold generals)
- 1 Lion (king)
When a Chick promotes, it becomes a Hen. When a Cat promotes, it becomes an "empowered cat." Both the Hen and empowered cat move just like the Dog piece. The promotion zones (where pieces can promote) are the first and last two rows of the board. This version also has some of the stricter rules from regular shogi, like not being able to drop a pawn to immediately checkmate the opponent, or having two pawns in the same column. Perpetual check (when the same moves repeat 4 times) is still a draw.
There's even a 9x9 version of this game called "Dobutsu shogi in the Greenwood" (or ōkina mori no dōbutsu shōgi in Japanese). This version is actually exactly the same as regular shogi! Because the board is much bigger, the Elephant and Giraffe pieces can move any number of squares, just like bishops and rooks in standard shogi.
Images for kids
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Dōbutsu shōgi
