0 BGG rank #22142

Hasami Shogi

2 players 30 min Ages 10+ 1.9/5 complexity 5.5/10 rating

About this game

Hasami shogi is a traditional Japanese game played on a shogi-ban, i.e., a 9×9 grid of spaces, using the fhuyo ("pawns") from a shogi set (and as such this game should not be considered a Shogi Variant as the capture rules differ greatly. The pieces initially occupy the entire back row, i.e., the row of spaces nearest the controlling player. As in shogi, the sides are called sente ("black") and gote ("white") with sente going first, but the colors associated with the names are purely conventional. The object of the game is to be the first player to capture either five or eight of an opponent's pieces, as agreed upon before starting the game. An opponent's piece is taken by custodial capture, i.e., by being sandwiched horizontally or vertically (but not diagonally) between a player's own pieces. A piece must be moved into such a postion immediately on either side of an opponent's piece to make a capture, but multiple captures can be made simultaneously. This occurs only if a piece is moved so that it causes more than one enemy piece to be positioned between the piece moved and another of the player's own pieces.

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Abstract Strategy

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Setup

Hasami Shogi: Place the 9×9 board between both players. Each player takes 9 pieces of their color. Each player places all 9 pieces on the back row of the board on their side (the row closest to them). Black pieces occupy one back row, White pieces occupy the opposite back row. Black moves first. Dai Hasami Shogi: Same as Hasami Shogi but each player uses 18 pieces, occupying their two back rows. Mak-yek: Use the 9×9 board but ignore the printed borders and instead use the intersection points, effectively creating an 8×8 grid of points. Each player takes 16 pieces and places them on ranks 1 and 3 on their respective side (filling two non-adjacent starting ranks). Black moves first.

Turn flow

Players alternate turns, starting with Black. On each turn, a player MUST move exactly one of their pieces. A piece may be moved any number of empty squares in a straight orthogonal line (forward, backward, left, or right). After moving, any opponent pieces that are now sandwiched between the moved piece and another friendly piece along the same orthogonal line are immediately captured and removed from the board. Corner captures and (in Mak-yek) interposition captures are also resolved at this time. No passing is allowed.

Scoring and victory

The first player to satisfy the win condition wins immediately. There is no point tally — victory is binary. Target score: Agreed capture target (5 or 8) in Hasami Shogi; all pieces in Dai Hasami Shogi and Mak-yek Scoring sources: Capturing 5 opponent pieces (Hasami Shogi, if agreed), Capturing 8 opponent pieces (Hasami Shogi, if agreed), Capturing all opponent pieces (Dai Hasami Shogi / Mak-yek), Having captured more opponent pieces when no further captures are possible (Dai Hasami Shogi)

Source: Rulebook

Rules to know

The most useful rules for getting a first game right.

Setup

Hasami Shogi uses a 9×9 board and 9 pieces per player in two distinct colors.

Hasami Shogi requires a 9×9 grid board and two sets of 9 counters in different colors (black and white). The PnP version assembles the board from two printed halves aligned along their long sides.

Setup

Each player places all 9 pieces on their own back row before play begins.

Each player places all 9 of their pieces on the row of the board closest to them (their 'back row'). Black occupies one back row and White occupies the opposite back row. The board center starts empty.

Turn structure

Players alternate turns; Black moves first. A move must always be made.

Players take alternating turns. Black always moves first. On every turn, the active player MUST make exactly one move. There are no exceptions — passing is not allowed.

Movement

A piece moves any number of empty squares orthogonally (forward, backward, left, or right) in a straight line.

On their turn, a player selects one of their pieces and moves it any number of empty squares in a single orthogonal direction: forward, backward, left, or right. The piece cannot jump over other pieces (friendly or opposing), and it cannot move diagonally unless a variant rule is agreed upon. The path must be clear of all pieces up to (but not including) the destination square.

Combat

An opponent's piece is captured if it ends up directly between the moved piece and another friendly piece along the same orthogonal line.

After a player completes their move, if one or more opponent pieces lie in a straight orthogonal line between the piece just moved and another piece belonging to the same player, those opponent pieces are immediately captured and removed from the board. This can capture any number of opponent pieces simultaneously as long as they form an unbroken chain between the two friendly pieces along the same row or column. Capture is triggered only by the moving piece completing its move — it is not triggered by the opponent's movement.

Restriction

Moving your own piece between two opposing pieces does NOT cause your piece to be captured.

If a player moves one of their pieces so that it comes to rest between two of the opponent's pieces, that player's piece is safe and is NOT captured. Sandwiching capture only applies to the player whose turn it is, and only to opponent pieces sandwiched after the move. A piece is never captured as a result of its own movement.

Combat

An opponent's piece occupying a corner can be captured by surrounding its two open sides with your pieces.

The four corner squares of the board are special. A piece in a corner has only two open (non-wall) sides. If an opponent's piece occupies a corner and a player places their pieces on both of the two open orthogonal squares adjacent to that corner, the corner piece is captured and removed from the board. This follows the same post-move evaluation as the standard sandwich capture.

Endgame

Win by capturing either 5 or 8 opponent pieces (agreed before the game).

Before the game begins, both players must agree on the capture target: either 5 or 8 opponent pieces. The first player to capture that many opponent pieces immediately wins the game.

Strategy briefing

Control the center early

Because pieces move any number of empty squares orthogonally (hs_movement), a piece in the center has maximum reach and threatens captures along all four directions. Advancing pieces to central files early gives you greater board coverage.

Coordinate two pieces to sandwich

Captures require exactly two of your own pieces with opponent pieces between them (hs_capture_sandwich). Keep pairs of pieces aligned on the same row or column so that a single move with one piece can snap shut a trap. A lone advanced piece cannot capture on its own.

Corner trapping

Opponent pieces in corners only need to be covered on two sides to be captured (hs_capture_corner). Luring or blocking opponent pieces into corners can yield easy captures, as you need fewer pieces to complete the trap compared to mid-board sandwiches.

Safe interposition in Hasami Shogi / Dai Hasami Shogi

You can freely move your piece between two opponent pieces without being captured (hs_capture_safe_interpose). This allows bold infiltration moves into the opponent's formation that would be punished in Mak-yek, enabling you to disrupt their coordinated pairs.

Beware interposition in Mak-yek

In Mak-yek, moving between two opponent pieces captures both of them (mak_capture_interpose), but by the same token, YOUR piece can be captured if you inadvertently move it between two opponent pieces. Always check both the sandwich and interpose capture threats before moving.

Force no-capture draws in Dai Hasami Shogi

In Dai Hasami Shogi, if no further captures are possible the player with more captures wins (dhs_win_condition). If you are ahead in captures, you can try to maneuver pieces into a deadlock. If you are behind, avoid stalemate positions and keep the game dynamic.

Misère: protect your pieces differently

Under Misère rules, losing all but one piece is the WIN condition (hs_variant_misere). Optimal play inverts: deliberately expose pieces to be captured while keeping exactly one safe. Do not let your opponent reach one piece before you do.

Multi-axis captures

A single move can simultaneously trigger captures along both the row and column of the moved piece (hs_capture_sandwich). Position pieces so that one move closes sandwiches in two directions at once, maximizing captures per turn.

Common questions and edge cases

A player moves their piece between two opponent pieces. Are they captured?

It depends on the game being played. In Hasami Shogi and Dai Hasami Shogi, moving between two opposing pieces is explicitly safe — your piece is NOT captured. In Mak-yek, this same move causes both opposing pieces to be captured. Your own piece remains on the board in all variants.

In Mak-yek, a move both sandwiches an opponent piece AND moves between two other opponent pieces. How many captures happen?

Both capture methods trigger simultaneously after the move is completed. All opponent pieces that are either sandwiched by the moved piece and a friendly piece, or flanked on both sides of the moved piece, are captured at the same time.

An opponent piece is in a corner. How is it captured?

A corner piece has only two open orthogonal sides (the other two are board edges). Place your pieces on both of those two open adjacent squares (via a move that lands on one of them) and the corner piece is immediately captured. Only two friendly pieces are needed, not four, because the walls count as barriers.

A player is in a losing position and wants to pass their turn. Can they?

No. A player must make a move on every turn without exception. There is no passing in any variant of this game.

After a move, opponent pieces are sandwiched in both the row and column of the moved piece. Are all of them captured?

Yes. After completing a move, all opponent pieces that are now sandwiched between the moved piece and any other friendly piece along any orthogonal axis (the same row AND the same column) are captured simultaneously in a single move.

In Dai Hasami Shogi, no further captures are possible. How is the winner determined?

The player who has captured more opponent pieces than the other wins. If both players have captured the same number of pieces, the rules do not specify a tiebreaker — agreeing on a draw or a rematch is recommended.

How is the 8×8 Mak-yek board created from the 9×9 printed board?

Ignore the borders (edges of squares) printed on the 9×9 board and instead treat the intersection points (where grid lines cross) as the playable spaces. A 9×9 grid of squares has 10×10 intersection points, but the usable interior intersections form an 8×8 playable grid for Mak-yek.

Under Misère rules, a player's second-to-last piece is captured, leaving them with one piece. Do they win immediately?

Yes. Under Misère rules, the first player to be reduced to exactly one piece on the board wins immediately, so having their second-to-last piece captured is the winning condition.