Play at 81dojo. You will like it!

February 17, 2011 by shogishack

When I play Shogi online, I usually play at PlayOK. This site is based on the experience I gained at PlayOK (At the time, the site used to be called Kurnick) Recently I was introduced to another site, 81Dojo. The site is a spinoff of the 81SquareUniverse, one of the busiest English based Shogi site. 81Dojo is architected by Hidetch, the Youtube shogi video fame, so this could not be bad but I was pleasantly surprised at few of the features this site provides. What I like about the site board’s UI. (in no particular order) Rich graphic representation of shogi board and pieces Pieces on hand is graphically displayed. This is much closer to real board experience, compared to the way PlayOK shows those pieces (symbol with numbers in a table). You can play komaochi, or handycap game in non-rated games. The best feature is the ability to be able to replay and evaluate your moves and then play “what if I/you made this move” movements. Observers can also suggests other moves graphically. I believe this is a very good way to improve your shogi skill set. A Big shortcoming of the 81dojo currently is participation. They need more people playing on this site so the player can find a partner with similar skill level. Once the site gets its popularity though, This site could be easily the best online shogi experience.