Nasmichael: I agree with you about shogi having wonderful gameplay, but respectfully, I am not equally enthusiastic about some other variants that have added this feature. Chess-gi inexplicably lacks the elegance of shogi. Shatranj-gi or makruk-gi seem more enjoyable, but, in my opinion, they lack the charm that shogi possesses.

Mino is a castle, as I understand it, whose arrangement aims to defend against an attack coming across the rear ranks; High Mino balances against an attack that may come along the rear ranks and the files around the head of the king. Silver Crown aims at thwarting an assault that comes head-on from the files.

I do not want to pretend to a knowledge that I do not have, so I truly hope to read the thoughts here of experienced shogi players and their evaluation of proper gameplay. When I have seen games played at the Shogi Dojo online or the ThaiBG shogi site, I admire the moves but am at pains to appreciate their depth.

When playing stronger players, I have been most gratified that the very well constructed handicap system of shogi permits play on a near even footing. I have seen some exciting games where newcomers were able to play against shogi professionals and come close to (and occasionally score) wins. The truly nice thing is that the handicaps have themes whereby progress through the various handicaps teaches tactics and strategy progressively.