Yellow Mountain Imports Shogi Japanese Chess Magnetic Travel Game Set - 9.6-Inch

I’ve only recently discovered the game of Shogi, and I wanted to get an affordable and transportable set for myself. This one definitely fits the bill. At $15, it was very affordable. It’s not particularly fancy, but I wasn’t expecting that. It’s a very simple, bare-bones set with magnetic tiles meant to serve as a travel set.The pieces are small but clearly marked, which is important for beginners like myself who are still trying to learn the characters. The instruction pamphlet that explains how the pieces move has images that are a bit less than clear, but it didn’t take too much effort to figure out which was what. Once I am more practiced, the guide will be less necessary anyway, so I’m not too worried about that. The English translation is clear on how the pieces play and promote.The pieces came on sprues which had to be detached. It leaves a little leftover plastic end, but with some elbow grease and a file, you can get rid of those sprue ends easily. My experience constructing wargame miniatures came in handy there. The plastic isn’t particularly high quality, but I got what I paid for and I don’t have any complaints there.The magnets aren’t terribly strong. I’ve seen other reviews discuss whether the board can be turned upside down or not. I tried it, and the pieces did remain on the board. Really though, I don’t anticipate a lot of gameplay upside down. I also tilted it sideways and the larger pieces slid down, but again, I don’t anticipate playing sideways either. I haven’t tested if they’d survive a serious bump yet, but for standard use, they are adequate.I have some concerns about how long the latch to hold the board closed for storage will last. It seems a bit lower quality than I’d prefer. But again, it is a fifteen-dollar Shogi set. I won’t complain too much, and I won’t cut the star rating for that alone. All in all, it’s a decent set for a very good price.

I came to know Shogi because of Anime, but after reading in Wikipedia and other websites, It really seems an entertainment game, quite like chess but more challenging.This Shogi set it quite nice, pieces would fall if you turn it down, but I don't think you would do that anyway.My only complaint is that the Kanjis seams a little bit different from what you would see in almost every single website, but this is not a big issue since you can distinguish a little bit, (it seems this is a two characters with cursive style kanjis version) a side from that I recommend this Shogi set as a starting set it's nice, well made and cheap what else do you what? (well perhaps a little rules explanation would have been a good idea, but you do have Internet right?)If you would like to learn more from Shogi I recommend Wikipedia and Hidetchi youTube Shogi Channel (where you will find an excellent English video lessons).

I must say, finding a shogi board at a nice price in the united states is hard enough. But then try to find one that can take on the rigors of a collage back pack, one that if it does break, wont break your wallet to replace it. As a beginner to shogi, I thought it would be wonderful to have such a board, to bring around with me, and teach friends with, and in the mean time I could get better at it too!This was a fine purchase, I eagerly awaited its arrival and wasn't disappointed. Each piece is double sided, as it should be, And there is a small magnet inside of the sandwiched plastic piece. These aren't strong magnets, but strong enough to play on a bus, or in a bumpy car with no problems, (who wants to play shogi upside down anyway?) The pieces themselves come on a little plastic frame all stuck together, Similar to those plastic model kits that you put together, all you have to do is snap them off the frame, and smooth out the bump left behind by scratching it off. If you pry the pieces apart, which isn't hard to do, you could lose a magnet or something, so don't do it, and you wont have any problems.The case/board is rugged plastic with a metal playing surface, and comes in a relatively sturdy cardboard box to keep it safe from dust, scratches light rain etc. It's small enough to fit in a back pack or i suppose a large purse, But not too small like some other sets i've seen, which you almost have to play with tweezers. This set is just the right size especially for beginners who have a hard time remembering the characters on the pieces are.Some last things i'd like to say are that this set doesn't come with any way to keep the pieces separated, (mini boxes, etc.) and doesn't have piece stands, as some more experienced players may be used to. However, all in all, this is a nice Shogi set, that will give you many hours of strategic fun and will hold up under the wear and tear of daily life, as long as you treat it nicely.

YMI lists the dimensions on the product page. its not their fault i had the wrong mental picture. this set feels pretty small over all. i dont like that the pieces come on the sprue or that the magnets inside rattle like a musical instrument. the magnets feel weak but will hold the pieces in place if the board is sideways no matter which way the pieces are flipped. the instructions are confusing. the booklet shows different kanji than what are written on the actual pieces. in the end i got this set on sale and its worth the price. if i love the game i will give this away and buy the YMI wood travel set.

I bought this for my son, who learned Shogi in Japanese language class. He was quite excited to get it and play with it. It is a little larger than the usual magnetic travel chess set, but that made it easier to play. Good for tabletop or travel play. Pieces are clearly labeled. The pieces are lightly magnetized, not so strongly that they're hard to pick up, but if you shake the board, they'll fall off. They won't fall off if you tilt or bump the board. Looks and feels pretty nicely made. When closed, there is a latch to keep the halves folded and closed, but I would put the pieces into a small ziploc or felt bag to keep them from getting lost. Bag not included.

I got this because I wanted to play shogi. It is more fun than I thought it would be. You only have 1 rook and 1 bishop, with all of your other pieces only being able to move 1 square at a time. The trick is that you can play captured enemy pieces as your own.Now for the review of this particular set.1. It does not come with an instruction sheet, so you will have to look up the rules online.2. The kanji are not as clear as they are in the pictures, they use a different font. It looks like it was put on using a caligraphy brush making the symbols less clear and may be hard to read if you are not familiar with kanji.3. The board/case is strong and feels like it will survive a beating but for me it doesn't seal, so it falls open pretty easily. There is also no holder for the pieces so if it does open up the pieces will go everywhere.4. The magnets are strong. Despite what others said you can play with it upside as long as you are caruful about how you got it into that position. I still agree with the other reviewers that I have no idea why you would want to though.I would have to recommend it just for the fact of the near impossibility of finding a decent shogi game here in the States.

It is a great beginner board. It comes with the board which is magnetic and fold-able, the Shogi pieces which are also magnetic, and a small brochure which gives the rules, piece movement, and other nuances of Shogi. The board is very well made and sturdy, the magnets aren't amazing but are strong enough to stay one, and the pieces do not feel cheap. The pieces do come in plastic brackets so use a small file to get rid of plastic nibs, but overall great board.

Picked it up easily. It’s still very much like chess but with a little bit of variation. Magnets aren’t super strong so be careful not to knock the pieces. They won’t fly off the board though which is all that mattersHusband and I love playing it

A mí hijo le gustó, está imantado y se guardan las fichas dentro al doblarse y cerrarse para q no se pierdan

Para el precio, es adecuado, por lo que no es muy grande y las piezas son de plástico. El imán que maneja no es muy potente, pero si lo suficiente para dejar las piezas pegadas al tablero al voltearlo de cabeza.En resumen, es muy buen producto.

Great

Prodotto eccellente, qualità prezzo superlativa. Incluso di istruzioni in diverse lingue, tra cui inglese, spagnolo, italiano, ecc... Consiglio assolutamente per chi vuole provare senza grosse spese, o anche semplicemente tenerli esposti come per collezione

The product is as seen in the photographs.The style of calligraphy is from my Western perspective a bit messy, but it is still easy to tell which piece.Some of the pieces had a pink smudge on them, perhaps from the process that printed the promoted values on the reverse side of the piece.If held at a very steep angle (almost vertical) some of the pieces slid out of place (a Rook, a Bishop, a knight and a pawn).As may be noticed from the photographs, there are pieces of plastic sticking out from the rear of the piece; this is from where you have to remove them from a sprue.Anyway, this product is perfectly adequate for the purposes it may reasonably be used for; in my case it;s small enough to sit in front of the keyboard whilst playing Shogi on the computer.From my perspective I would have paid more for a higher quality product but I do feel that I have received value for money.