Supported Features
-
VoiceOver
ToriShogi
Board
Free · Designed for iPad. Not verified for macOS.
Every piece is a bird. Learn and play Tori Shogi, the Edo-era Japanese chess variant on a 7×7 board — AI opponents, interactive guide, game replay. Free, no ads.
■ What is Tori Shogi?
Tori Shogi ("bird shogi") is a Japanese chess variant born in the Edo period, traditionally attributed to Ōhashi Sōei, the ninth hereditary shogi Meijin. It is played on a compact 7×7 board with 16 pieces per side — and every piece is named after a bird. Guard your Phoenix, attack with a flock of Swallows, and promote your Falcon into the mighty Eagle.
Unusually for an old shogi variant, captured pieces return to your hand and can be dropped back into play, just like in modern shogi. A small board with surprisingly deep tactics.
New to the game? The app is built to teach you as you play. Choose Japanese or English at first launch — you can switch any time.
■ Learn as you play
- Illustrated guide to all nine pieces: names, movements and promotions
- Press and hold any piece during a game to see how it moves
- The Swallow rules (the "three Swallows" and drop-mate prohibitions) and the mirrored left/right Quails, all explained
■ Game modes
- Two Players: take turns on one iPhone or iPad
- vs Computer: Beginner, Easy and Normal levels — a perfect sparring partner while you learn
■ Complete rules, faithfully implemented
- Mandatory promotion: Falcon → Eagle, Swallow → Goose
- Piece drops, the "three Swallows" rule, the swallow-drop-mate prohibition
- Check and checkmate detection, repetition draws
■ Game records
- Finished games are saved automatically; save mid-game any time
- Replay your games move by move
■ Perfect for…
- Shogi and chess players curious about variants
- Quick but thoughtful games on a small board
- Fans of Japanese tradition, birds and beautiful woodcraft
- Playing with kids as a gateway into shogi
Everything runs on your device — play offline, on a plane, anywhere. No ads, no in-app purchases, completely free. Enjoy the elegant bird chess of Edo Japan.
Full VoiceOver support!
- Every board square now announces its coordinate, piece and state (e.g. "A1, Black Left Quail")
- Pieces in hand and all buttons are properly labeled
- Your opponent's moves are spoken aloud ("Computer: Swallow to C5. Check.")
Blind and low-vision players can now enjoy complete games. Thank you to the reviewer who requested this!
The developer, Tomohiko Kanai, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .
Data Not Collected
The developer does not collect any data from this app.
The developer indicated that this app supports the following accessibility features. Learn More
Information
- Seller
- Tomohiko Kanai
- Size
- 7 MB
- Category
- Board
- Compatibility
Requires iOS 16.0 or later.
- iPhone
Requires iOS 16.0 or later. - iPad
Requires iPadOS 16.0 or later. - Mac
Requires macOS 13.0 or later and a Mac with Apple M1 chip or later. - Apple Vision
Requires visionOS 1.0 or later.
- iPhone
- Languages
- English
- Age Rating
4+
- 4+
- Copyright
- © 2026 Studio TORICOTOR