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MahjongSetGuide
Guide

Go, xiangqi or shogi: which to learn first, and what set each one needs

Mahjong players tend to meet the other East Asian table games sooner or later: go on a club shelf, xiangqi in a park, shogi through an anime. All three are cheap to equip and deep enough for a lifetime. Here is what separates them, which suits which kind of player, and what to check before buying a set.

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The three games in one paragraph each

Go (weiqi in China, baduk in Korea) is played on the 361 intersections of a 19ร—19 grid with black and white stones. Players alternate placing stones; stones never move; groups with no empty neighbours are captured; the player who surrounds more territory wins. Two rules and a few thousand years of consequences.

Xiangqi, Chinese chess, is played on the points of a 9ร—10 grid divided by a river, with 32 disc pieces marked in characters. Each side has a general confined to a palace, advisors and elephants that cannot cross the river, horses that can be blocked, chariots that move like rooks, cannons that capture by jumping, and soldiers. It is faster and more open than Western chess.

Shogi, Japanese chess, is played on a 9ร—9 board with 40 wedge-shaped pieces marked in kanji. Most pieces promote on reaching the far third of the board, and a captured piece changes sides and may be dropped back onto the board as the captorโ€™s own. Because material never leaves play, games rarely simplify and the endgame is a race.

Side by side

  • Board: go 19ร—19 (13ร—13 and 9ร—9 for learning); xiangqi 9ร—10, pieces on the lines; shogi 9ร—9, pieces in the squares.
  • Pieces: go 361 identical stones; xiangqi 32 discs, 7 types; shogi 40 wedges, 8 types, each with a promoted face.
  • Goal: go, more territory; xiangqi, checkmate or stalemate the general; shogi, checkmate the king.
  • Game length: go 60โ€“90 minutes at a relaxed pace, under 20 on a 9ร—9; xiangqi 30โ€“45 minutes; shogi 45โ€“90 minutes.
  • Draws: common in go only as a tie-break issue (komi prevents them); rare in xiangqi; very rare in shogi.
  • Players worldwide: xiangqi has the most, go has the strongest club and online scene outside Asia, shogi is overwhelmingly Japanese but growing.

Which is hardest to learn?

Go has the simplest rules and the steepest curve. Anyone can learn the rules in ten minutes (our how to play go guide has all of them) and lose to a beginner who has played a month. The difficulty is that there is no piece knowledge to lean on; judgement of shape and territory has to be built from scratch, and the 19ร—19 board is wide enough that early games feel directionless. Start on 9ร—9, which teaches the capturing fights, then 13ร—13, then the full board.

Xiangqi is the easiest for a Western chess player. Half the pieces move like familiar ones, the board is small and the game is tactical from move one. The cannon and the restrictions on the general, advisors and elephants are the new ideas, and they take a few games to internalise. The only barrier is the characters, and a set with Western symbols or a printed key removes it.

Shogi sits between the two. The pieces are closer to Western chess than go is, but the drop rule means a chess playerโ€™s instincts for simplifying and trading are wrong, and checkmate attacks are faster and more violent than anything in chess. Reading kanji is a hurdle for the first week and then stops being one; the how to play shogi guide walks through the eight pieces.

Which one for which player

  • You like chess and want something fast you can play in a park: xiangqi.
  • You like chess but find it drawish and want endgames that never fizzle: shogi.
  • You like patience, position and a game you will never finish learning: go.
  • You want the game with the best online opponents and teaching at every level: go, through servers such as OGS, Fox and KGS and a huge library of books.
  • You came from an anime or manga: shogi (March Comes in Like a Lion, The Ryuoโ€™s Work is Never Done) or go (Hikaru no Go).

What a first go set needs

  • A 19ร—19 board with 13ร—13 or 9ร—9 on the reverse. A table board about 2 cm thick is right; floor boards are furniture.
  • 181 black and 180 white stones. Glass or Yunzi ceramic stones, 22 mm, are the single biggest upgrade over plastic.
  • Two lidded bowls. The material of the bowls does not matter to the game.
  • A magnetic folding set is a fine second set for travel and a poor first one: the stones are small and flat.

What a first xiangqi set needs

  • Pieces sized to the board. Discs are sold by number, roughly #4 at 3.5 cm to #8 at 5 cm; #6 or #7 on a 40โ€“45 cm board is the comfortable standard.
  • Engraved, painted characters on wood rather than printed acrylic, which wears.
  • For learners, discs that also carry Western symbols, or a printed key. The seven piece types take a few games to learn.
  • A folding wooden board that doubles as the box is the usual format and the right one.

What a first shogi set needs

  • 40 pieces graded in size by rank, with promoted faces on the back. Both kings are present; one marked ็Ž‹ and one ็Ž‰ is traditional.
  • A 9ร—9 board around 33 ร— 36 cm. Folding boards are normal; thick solid boards are the upgrade.
  • Two piece stands (komadai) for captured pieces, since captured pieces return to play.
  • For learners, pieces with movement arrows or Western symbols. Players stop needing them within a month, so do not pay extra for them on a wooden set.

Where this leaves mahjong

All three are two-player games, which is their quiet advantage over mahjong: no waiting for a table of four. Many mahjong groups keep a go or xiangqi set out for the evenings when only two turn up. If that is your situation, the two-player mahjong guide covers the mahjong side and the sets above cover the rest.

Frequently asked questions

Is go harder than chess?

The rules are simpler and the game is deeper. Go has more legal positions, no piece knowledge to lean on and a wider board, which is why computers took two decades longer to beat top humans at it. For a beginner, go is harder to feel progress in; for an expert, both are bottomless.

Can I play xiangqi with a Western chess set?

Not well. Xiangqi has a cannon, which Western chess lacks, pieces move on the intersections of a 9ร—10 grid rather than in squares, and the river and palaces change the geometry. A xiangqi set is inexpensive; buy one. The full rules are in our how to play xiangqi guide.

Do I need to read Japanese to play shogi?

No. There are eight piece types, each with one kanji on the front and a promoted form on the back, and beginner sets print movement arrows on the pieces as well. Most players recognise the pieces within a week.

What size go stones should I buy?

22 mm diameter is the standard for a 19ร—19 table board. Thickness is a matter of taste and budget: 8 to 9 mm single-convex stones are the usual choice; thicker Japanese-style double-convex stones are a luxury.

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