StudyX Mindsports vs Other Ways to Learn Chess, Shogi and Go

Say you want to learn chess, shogi or go, or you want a child in the family to learn one of them. You have more choices than ever. You can buy a board and find someone to play with. You can join one of the large online platforms. You can download an app for one game. Or you can use an app that bundles several games, which is what StudyX Mindsports does. I made StudyX Mindsports, so please keep that in mind as you read. I will try to be fair about each option, and say plainly where another one is the better choice.

What StudyX Mindsports Is

StudyX Mindsports is an app for iPhone, iPad and Android with twelve mind sports: Shogi, Chess, Go, Xiangqi, International Draughts, Checkers, Bridge, Mahjong, Backgammon, Daifugo, Disk Flip and Block Place. Eleven of them, all except International Draughts, have beginner lessons that explain the rules step by step, and there are advanced lessons as well. The lessons are in 15 languages.

You play against an offline CPU that goes from Lv.1 to Lv.50. Win and it moves up a level, lose and it moves down one, and the end of game dialog shows the level change. You can also pass one device back and forth for a two player match in nine of the board games, and Daifugo and Mahjong can be played on nearby devices. You can undo, step through a finished game with Review, and set the clock from 1 to 60 minutes per player or turn it off.

Chess follows the full international rules, including castling, en passant and promotion. Go is played on a 9x9 board, scored in the Japanese way with territory, captures and komi. The games play offline, with no signup. The app is free with ads. A one-time purchase, 1,500 yen on the Japanese App Store, removes the ads and opens every advanced lesson. There is no subscription.

Option 1: A Real Board and a Real Opponent

The oldest way is still the best in many respects. A wooden board and a person across the table teach you things an app does not: how to lose politely, how to read the other person’s face, how to slow down when the position gets serious. A patient teacher, in the family or at a local club, can explain why a move is bad, not only that it is bad.

The limits are practical. You need the set, and you need the other person to be there and willing. If nobody in the house knows the rules, somebody has to learn them first, and a rulebook is not the most welcoming way to do it.

StudyX Mindsports is meant to sit next to this, not replace it. The lessons can get both people to the point where a real game is possible, and a two player match on one device is closer to a board on the table than to online play.

Option 2: Online Platforms for One Game

Each of the three big games has well known online platforms.

lichess is a free and open source chess server. It has a Learn section with chess basics and practice, and you can play people from all over the world. Its post game computer analysis uses the Stockfish engine.

81Dojo is an online shogi server run as a non-profit. All features are free, the interface is available in more than 20 languages, and it runs in a browser and as iOS and Android apps. You play full games against people from many countries.

OGS (online-go.com) is a free go server that runs in the browser. It has an interactive tutorial for beginners, go problems, and bots you can play against at many difficulty levels.

These platforms are deeper than StudyX Mindsports in their own game. They have real human opponents at every level, analysis tools, tournaments and communities. If you want to keep playing one game seriously for years, one of them is probably where you will end up.

They are also online. You need a connection, and each platform covers one game, so learning chess and go means two different places. For a young child, playing strangers online may also be something a parent wants to think about first.

Option 3: An App for a Single Game

There are many apps that focus on one game against the computer, often with puzzles or lessons for that game. Their depth, prices, ads and account requirements vary a great deal, so I will not generalise. A good single-game app can go much further into openings, tactics and analysis than a collection of twelve games.

A Side by Side Table

	StudyX Mindsports	Board and a person	lichess, 81Dojo, OGS	Single-game apps
Games	Twelve, including Shogi, Chess, Go, Xiangqi, Bridge and Mahjong	Whatever sets you own	One game per platform	One
Beginner lessons	11 of the 12 games, in 15 languages	From the person teaching you	lichess and OGS have learning sections	Varies
Opponent	Offline CPU from Lv.1 to Lv.50, or a second person on the same device	A person	People around the world, and bots on OGS	Varies
Needs internet	No	No	Yes	Varies
Go board size	9x9	Any	Not compared here	Varies
Cost	Free with ads, or a one-time purchase to remove them	The price of a set	Free	Varies

When Another Option Is the Better Choice

You want human opponents online. StudyX Mindsports has no online matchmaking. Its Nearby Play for Daifugo and Mahjong only connects devices in the same place. lichess, 81Dojo or OGS will serve you far better.

You want full size go. Go in StudyX Mindsports is 9x9 only. It is a friendly size for learning, but the real game is played on 19x19, and for that you need a go server, another go app or a board.

You want to study one game deeply. Openings, long analysis, puzzle collections, rated games: a dedicated platform or app does this better.

You have a teacher or a club nearby. Use it. A person who knows the game is the best resource there is.

You want tsume shogi puzzles specifically. Our separate app Shogi365 is built for that, with 4,000 mating puzzles.

When StudyX Mindsports Makes Sense

StudyX Mindsports fits best at the start. It suits a family where nobody knows the rules yet, a commuter who wants a game that works without a signal, or someone who wants to try several games before choosing one. The CPU level follows your results, so the first opponent is not discouraging, and the two player mode keeps the game between people who are sitting together.

It is quite possible to begin here and later move on to a board, a club or an online platform.

The getting started guide walks through a first session, the tips post covers lessons, Review and the clock, and who StudyX Mindsports is for describes where it fits. The app page is at StudyX Mindsports.