A very cute game for kids and everyone who wants to learn the basics of Shogi, a traditional Japanese "chess" game.

どうぶつしょうぎ - Let's Catch the Lion! (a.k.a. Dōbutsu Shōgi, which means "animal shogi") is a simple version of Shogi. Both players have only four pieces – chick, giraffe, elephant and lion – and they're trying to either catch the opponent's lion or move their own lion to the other side. The board is just 3×4 squares, so the game is rather short, aimed mostly at getting children interested in Shogi – but even if you're an adult, the game is enjoyable. As for how to play:

The giraffe moves like a rook, but moves only one space.

The elephant moves like a bishop, but moves only one space. (Interestingly, in Xiangqi and Tamerlane Chess, the elephant moves precisely two spaces diagonally.)

The chick is directly analogous to the pawn/soldier of Shogi, and is promoted to a full-grown chicken, equivalent to the gold general in Shogi.

The lion is analogous to a king, except that he can win essentially by promoting, as long as it doesn't leave him in check.

Even on this 3×4 board, you are still able to drop in pieces that you captured from your opponent!

Unlike in Shogi, you can drop a chick for mate or have two chicks in a column.

Let's Catch the Lion is one of the most successful Japanese titles released over the last 15 years, and its success is mostly due to the very short and clever rules; as well as the very cute design of the tiles.

There's no doubt you should dive into this game, because it's a very good and short entry point to the more complex Shogi with full rules.

Check out the tutorial provided by Nekonyancer, or click the link below to know more about the game:

https://boardgamearena.com/gamepanel?ga ... tchthelion

We would love to thank, of course, the whole Nekomado team, as well as the game designer Madoka Kitao, for their authorization to bring this game to our platform.

Of course, there would be no games on BGA without developers, and this simple but very efficient adaptation has been done by MathCT who did an excellent job here! Send them some love for making it happen on the platform.

And... That's it for today!

Next Monday, there will be another Japan-flavored game coming!

*But until then we will have the Wednesday release. What could it be? What would you love it to be?

*Stay tuned, and until then... Take care and play fair!