Shogun

About this board game

Shogun is a two-player game with 10-minute play time, played on an 8×8 grid with seven pawns and one King per player. The opposing forces begin lined up on opposite sides of the board.

Players move their pieces across the grid and can remove opposing pieces by moving onto their spaces, creating a capture system reminiscent of chess. The distinctive feature is found on every piece: a window displays a number showing how many moves that piece can make.

That movement number is not fixed. Magnets beneath the board automatically change the number according to the space occupied by the pawn or King, so each position can affect how a piece moves. Every pawn responds differently as it travels across the board.

• An 8×8 playing grid
• Seven pawns and one King for each player
• Movement numbers displayed through windows on the pieces
• Magnets that change those numbers based on position
• Captures made by moving onto opposing pieces

Because the pieces behave differently across the board, movement and capture possibilities develop directly from where they stand. Players must account for the changing numbers while navigating toward the opposing army.

After several games, the board can be rotated to keep players guessing. This added uncertainty changes the familiar layout and helps preserve the surprising character of Shogun from one session to the next.

Released in 1976, Shogun offers a compact head-to-head contest built around positional movement, magnetic changes, and an unusual board that can be turned after repeated games.