Summon pieces onto the board. Dragons ascend. Flame reshapes the squares ahead.
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Roughly the depth of Western chess, with a wider piece vocabulary and dedicated summoning mechanics that keep the board alive deep into the endgame. Designed for players who want a long-term game, not a novelty.
Myth Chess belongs to the shogi family — Japanese chess — but redesigned. Captures generally remove pieces from play, as in Western chess; instead, pieces enter the board through Summon and Contain. Familiar to shogi players, intuitive to chess players, distinct from both.
Vermilion Bird, Black Tortoise, White Tiger, Azure Dragon — and their ascended forms. The Four Gods give the middlegame a distinctive shape, unlike standard chess or classical shogi.
Captures usually remove pieces from play. Instead of recycling them, you bring fresh pieces onto the board through Summon, and the Genbu lineage can Contain adjacent allied or neutral pieces into hand for later redeployment. A captured Wraith is the lone exception — it switches sides and joins your hand.
The Four Gods evolve into stronger divine forms mid-game. Timing the ascension is itself a strategic decision, paid in piece points and shattered treasures.
Flame-wielding pieces burn the three squares ahead. Adamant pieces resist. The Inferno reshapes every middlegame and forces real positional planning.
The game lives at tenjinshogi.com — the home of Tenjin Shogi, the Japanese original. Myth Chess is its international name.
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