Play Shougi 2 (Japan) Online

Shogi 2 (Game Boy Color) is one of those games that makes you forget you're holding a tiny green screen in your hands. At first glance, it's just Japanese chess—but the AI here actually makes you think. I lost my first three matches embarrassingly fast before realizing I was moving pieces like it was regular chess. Big mistake.

The sprites are simple but clean, and the sound effects have that satisfying Game Boy *click* when you drop a piece. What I love is how the difficulty scales—you can start against what feels like a sleepy opponent, then suddenly find yourself sweating over a single misplaced silver general. No tutorials, no hand-holding, just pure shogi. If you’ve ever wanted to learn but found modern apps overwhelming, this stripped-down version is weirdly the best teacher. Just don’t blame me when you lose track of time trying to outmaneuver the CPU’s sneaky promotions.