Yoshimura Shogi

Shogi in English, also known as Japanese chess, is a two-player board game in the same family as Western chess, chaturanga, Chinese Xiangqi, and is the most popular of a family of chess variants native to Japan. Shogi means general’s (sho) boardgame (gi). In early years, however, shogi was written (the same as Xiangqi, “elephant chess”).

The earliest predecessors of the game, chaturanga, originated in India in the 6th century AD, and spread from China to Japan, where it spawned a number of variants. Shogi in its present form was played as early as the 16th century, while a direct ancestor without the “drop rule” was recorded from 1210 in a historical document Nichureki, which is an edited copy of Shochureki and Kaichureki from the late Heian period (ca 1120).

According to ChessVariants.com, “Perhaps the enduring popularity of Shogi can be attributed to its ‘drop rule’; it was the first chess variant wherein captured pieces could be returned to the board to be used as one’s own. David Pritchard credits the drop rule to the practice of 16th century mercenaries who switched loyalties when captured-no doubt as an alternative to execution.”

Each player sets up his pieces facing his opponent.
* In the rank nearest the player he places:
o The king is placed in the center file.
o The two gold generals are placed in the adjacent files to the king.
o The two silver generals are placed adjacent to each gold general.
o The two knights are placed adjacent to each silver general.
o The two lances are placed in the corners, adjacent to each knight.

That is, the first rank is |L|N|S|G|K|G|S|N|L|.
* In the second rank, each player places:
o The bishop in the same file as the left knight.
o The rook in the same file as the right knight.
* In the third rank, the nine pawns are placed one to each file.

Yoshimura Shogi is a shogi game that features a complete tutorial and a vs computer and vs another human player game modes. The game features also japanese voice acting for each player movement.