Thanks for mentioning Makyou Shogi, I'm glad someone noticed it :) It's a work-in-progress still, but I do enjoy it as a smaller, rapid-fire introduction to Tenjiku Shogi.
Looking forward to playing it when it's ready! Your website is a wonderful resource and persuaded me on the merits of the larger variants, including Dai Shogi, which I had assumed was superseded by Chu in all respects and has its own personality.
I appreciate the time people take into the simplified forms, and know that Japanese players feel the same about the large variants. They have attempted to reduce the game of Chu Shogi down to 10×10, and very recently 9×9:
Give it a try before you go for even weaker pieces :) The original, full-power Demon is still usable even on 12x12. Personally I'd rather see this game with a stronger Demon than an even weaker one.
I've been thinking about this and will give it another go. Setup should be considerably faster now that I can recall the Chu Shogi start position by heart and aim to do the same for Tenjiku.
My hesitancy in playing was based on Colin Adams suggesting that Black may have a very strong opening advantage, and the choice paralysis of what to play as an opening.
The first seems to have been mitigated according to Wikipedia (based on the Chess Variants website rules). The second is something I'll have to try, and with ten pieces more powerful than the Lion on the board will take a bit of experimenting.
The Fire Demon does look like a lot of fun to play with and will have to accept that the first few games with my friend will just be the chess equivalent of a fireworks display!
Looking forward to playing it when it's ready! Your website is a wonderful resource and persuaded me on the merits of the larger variants, including Dai Shogi, which I had assumed was superseded by Chu in all respects and has its own personality.
I appreciate the time people take into the simplified forms, and know that Japanese players feel the same about the large variants. They have attempted to reduce the game of Chu Shogi down to 10×10, and very recently 9×9:
Lion Shogi and board setup.
I've been thinking about this and will give it another go. Setup should be considerably faster now that I can recall the Chu Shogi start position by heart and aim to do the same for Tenjiku.
My hesitancy in playing was based on Colin Adams suggesting that Black may have a very strong opening advantage, and the choice paralysis of what to play as an opening.
The first seems to have been mitigated according to Wikipedia (based on the Chess Variants website rules). The second is something I'll have to try, and with ten pieces more powerful than the Lion on the board will take a bit of experimenting.
The Fire Demon does look like a lot of fun to play with and will have to accept that the first few games with my friend will just be the chess equivalent of a fireworks display!