The board is 9x9. The White side, called Japan, has the standard layout for Shogi, while Black, called USA, has the standard layout for Chess. Black has one empty space on the queenside of each row in the layout.
Japan moves first.
Japan's pieces move and promote according to the rules of Shogi. USA's pieces move as in chess and chess pawns promote to any chess piece upon reaching the 8th or 9th rank. Pieces captured by the USA are removed from the game. Pieces captured by Japan are retained in reserve and may be entered onto any empty square instead of an normal move. Pawns may not be entered on the 8th or 9th rank, other pieces may be entered anywhere.