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The influence of shogi in other games

After writing about Shogi (Japanese chess) the last four weeks it got me thinking about the influence the game has had in developing other games.

After writing about Shogi (Japanese chess) the last four weeks it got me thinking about the influence the game has had in developing other games.

Shogi is certainly not as widely played as it deserves, but clearly some game developers have recognized some of its merits and borrowed them for more recent games.

In the two cases I will cover this week, both were reviewed in depth here, but some time ago, and in the context of Shogi influence warrant another look.

The first is ‘The Duke’ a 2013 board game release.

If you like games where chess has been an obvious influence, more specifically Shogi, but still have its own fresh take on how such a game should play out The Duke will not disappoint.

The games came to us from designers Jeremy Holcomb and Stephen McLaughlin. They have created something rather special in terms of gaming, although they do borrow most concepts from other games.

That is not meant as a knock on The Duke. Many great things in our world are the result of taking bits and pieces of other things and making them work. The wheel and motor came long before the car, yet the car is a marvelous creation in its own right too.

The Duke has a definite Shogi-look. The game uses flat wooden pieces inscribed with piece details. In that regard it looks much like the Japanese vein of chess.

On one side of the nicely made, wooden pieces (always a plus), the actual movement When a trigger occurs, the pieces in The Duke flip, and there is a different movement pattern, which course mimics Shogi.

Having the moves on the pieces is a huge benefit in terms of grasping the game quickly, and they still look nice as pieces.

In The Duke the flip trigger is simple. Move a piece and it flips. Move it again and it flips once more. The mechanic means understanding not just what you can do on a move, but what just a move will mean once the piece flips for a follow up attack or defence.

The basic rule set for The Duke is well-laid out, and includes alternative objectives for winning a game. This is a huge bonus for the game since it will forever keep the play fresh.

As an example flag pieces included with the set allow for capture-the-flag game versions.

And there is more to make The Duke a truly amazing game.

The basic game comes with a mountain tile, a piece which is placed and then impedes movement through that square. Simple, yet a highly effective way to alter game play.

There is also a blank tile included for each player to allow you to be creative and design your own piece.

Of course if you aren’t into being that creative, there are various expansion packs of pieces coming down the production line for The Duke, and there are some great ones too. The expansions are all themed, and those themes take in some of the best books from the era of swords and chivalry. They include a Robert E. Howard set, meaning you get tiles for Kull, Conan and Soloman Kane, an Arthurian set, so you get to play with Merlin, King Arthur, Morgana and others, and The Three Musketeers set, and other highlighting characters from Robin Hood.

Check out the game at www.catalystgamelabs.com

The second game that I must mention here dates back to 2004, the much under-appreciated Navia Dratp the creation of Koichi Yamazaki, and released by BanDai

Navia Dratp is very much a game in the style of chess, well to be more accurate it’s a game in the same vein as Shogi, the Japanese version of chess reviewed here last week. That said Yamazaki has added a bunch of new elements to the mix to make Navia a definitely unique game.

Players start the game, played on a 7X7 board, with nine pieces on the board, called gulled stones, which really equate to pawns. The actual pieces are rather cheap looking, which is odd since the rest of the components for the game are great.

Each player also starts the game with seven Maseitai, the major pieces of the game. The Maseitai start off the board, and can be summoned onto the board on specific squares in lieu of any other action on your turn.

This is where it gets interesting, each Maseitai has a specific movement pattern, as well as a dratp cost. Pay the dratp cost with gyullas and you can flip the movement key, exposing a new movement pattern, or other enhanced or special ability. This again leads back to Shogi where most pieces can be flipped for enhanced moves.

The Maseitai pieces are fairly large, nicely detailed pieces, with a definite fantasy/anime-look. They are actually quite stunning, and next to the mechanics, are easily the best aspect of this game.

There are 42 Maseitai out there to choose from, and since you only have seven in play, the options are rather diverse, even though the game lasted only a short time in terms of new product being released.

Simply put, Navia Dratp is an amazing game.

And next week I’ll look at a just released game, again with an undeniable Shogi influence.