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Castles

Step through how each castle is built, one move at a time. Only the builder's moves are shown — the opponent stands still — so you can see the shape form. In a real game you play these between your opponent's moves, and the order bends to what they do.

Boat castle

Boat 舟囲い

funa-gakoi · Boat castle

The static-rook player's quick castle against ranging rook: king one step left, golds side by side.

Strong
Only four moves, so you can start attacking at once.
Weak
Thin. If the attack fails, the king is easy to reach — many players later upgrade it to a Left Mino or an Anaguma.

Move order

  1. Open the bishop.
  2. Right gold up beside the king's path.
  3. King steps left…
  4. …to g2. The left silver and gold stay home — that is the Boat.

Why castles matter and how to choose one: the castles lesson · see which castles players here actually reach in the opening explorer.