What is Judkins Shogi?
Judkins shogi is a small shogi on a 6×6 board. Each side has seven pieces: a king, a gold general, a silver general, a knight, a bishop, a rook and one pawn. The six pieces fill the back row, and the pawn stands in front of the king.
The pieces move, capture, promote and are dropped as in standard shogi, and the promotion zone is the far two rows. The usual limits on drops stay: no two unpromoted pawns of one player on a file, no checkmate by dropping a pawn, and no pawn or knight dropped where it could never move.
Judkins shogi sits between Minishogi and the full game: big enough for a knight and some planning, small enough for a game over a coffee.
Rule changes
| Rule | Standard Shogi | Judkins Shogi |
|---|---|---|
| Board | Standard Shogi9×9. | Judkins Shogi6×6. |
| Pieces | Standard Shogi20 each: king, rook, bishop, two gold generals, two silver generals, two knights, two lances and nine pawns. | Judkins Shogi7 each: king, gold, silver, knight, bishop and rook on the back row, and one pawn in front of the king. There are no lances. |
| Promotion zone | Standard ShogiThe far three rows. | Judkins ShogiThe far two rows. A knight that reaches them must promote, since it would have no move left. |
| How to win | Standard ShogiCheckmate the opponent's king. | Judkins ShogiThe same. A position that occurs for the fourth time ends the game in a draw. |
History
Judkins shogi was invented in 1998 by Paul Judkins, a shogi player from England. Compared with Minishogi it adds a row, a column and a knight, and it keeps one of every standard piece except the lance, so every move a beginner learns in Judkins shogi carries over to the full game.
That makes it a common next step for players moving from Minishogi to standard shogi.