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Muller graphics[Subject Thread] [Add Response]
Charles Gilman wrote on Fri, Jul 13, 2012 06:13 AM UTC:
I am very impressed by H.G. Muller's graphics for Shogi variants. On looking at them I had an intuitive idea of how they move and when I checked with Roger Hare's page most of my guesses were proved right. For the first time it occurs to me, seeing the pieces in place with their moves obvious, that Chu Shogi might have been an influence on the design of Okisaki Shogi. I am even able to notice that the two middle pieces of the back rank are reversed in the diagrams here and on Roger Hare's page - something that I would easily have missed in two diagrams both using Japanese characters even with the help of recurring characters such as gyo (mover), sha (chariot), and sho (general). Are these two alternative arrays, or is one of them in error?

H. G. Muller wrote on Mon, Jul 16, 2012 01:54 PM UTC:

The screenshot I published here is actually in error. The error is since fixed in WinBoard, but I have not made a new screenshot yet (because unfortunately the laptop I develop on cannot make screenshots). The screenshot is also not consistent in the transparency of the black pieces, something that is now fixed too.

The pieces prove indeed a big help; I knew none of these variants before, but even playing Tai Shogi on 25x25 now comes quite naturally to me. There are only a handfull of pieces that have some 'weirdness' to their moves that falls outside the classification on which the piece symbols are based. As a consequence I had to make some custom-designs for those. (Like hook movers, and pieces with multiple captures.) To learn such a game now, you would only have to learn the moves of these few pieces (usually the strongest around, which would need your attention anyway). The other 90-or-so piece types are no effort at all.


Tai-Shogi array


Tai piece overview, including all promoted types


Tenjiku-Shogi array


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