I've always found strategic games to be the most enjoyable to play, whether that we were board games, board game conversions, or computer games. Chess, dominos, scrabble, and especially Shogi are some of my favorites. If you have never played Shogi you are definitely missing out.
Shogi is a Japanese form of chess with a twist. It is almost like Risk or Stratego in some ways. Like chess, games are played between two players competing for position on a nine by nine board.
However, Shogi is more noticeably based on combat and the tactics of war than chess. This may seem hard to believe since chess is commonly associated with battle. However, Shogi goes even beyond chess. Both players compete for position in the middle of the board, similar to the opening moves of chess. However a Shogi game also allows players to "promote" all of their pieces instead of only select pieces, thereby increasing their attack range, reminiscent of seizing the high ground on a battle field. Also, a captured enemy's piece may be "dropped" on the board, meaning the captured piece can be added to your own pieces and used against your opponent. This is excellent incentive for capturing other pieces. Users can determine
which side any particular piece is playing for according to the direction it faces.
What we have here, is a board game conversion to the DOS operating system called Shogi Master, and it is nice. The graphics on this particular version of Shogi are pretty good. Fancy graphics are not needed at all to play this game, so the graphics provided are more than adequate. The gameplay is challenging and provides all the elements of play you would expect from a person, minus stimulating conversation. The AI is good and you can select difficulty levels to make certain that the game is suited to your own personal ability level. This is a good game, and also a good way to learn Shogi or to brush up on your tactics if you are rusty. It can also be a very challenging play.
