Where a game's rules live

E-sugoroku: reading a route across a printed world

Shogi pieces: direction, lettering and the reverse face

Shogi pieces are usually pointed, five-sided wooden tiles. Lettering identifies the piece, orientation shows which side controls it, and turning it over can mark promotion. Materials, calligraphic styles and finishing methods add another craft dimension.

Video games in Japan: platforms, play and preservation

Video games developed in Japan span arcade machines, home consoles, computers, portable systems and mobile devices. These settings support different controls, audiences and forms of play rather than one uniform national style.

Pac-Man: collecting, pursuit and a temporary reversal

Namco’s 1980 arcade game Pac-Man uses a maze, a joystick-controlled character, collectible dots and pursuing ghosts. Larger power pellets temporarily reverse the pursuit, creating a different scoring opportunity.

Pokémon Red and Green: paired games and linked players

The original Japanese Pokémon Red and Green are Game Boy role-playing games developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo on 27 February 1996. Players travel, catch and train Pokémon, with a link cable enabling trades and battles between two players.

Sugoroku: board play and journeys on paper

Sugoroku can refer to ban-sugoroku, played with a board, counters and dice, or e-sugoroku, played across a printed picture sheet. A shared name does not give these two forms one common rulebook.

Shogi drops: putting captured pieces back into play

In shogi, a captured piece can become a piece in your hand. On a later turn, you may place it on the board as your own piece. This is a drop, and it uses your turn.

Tsume-shōgi: continuous checks and every defense

Go in Japan: the game and its institutions

Go is a two-player game from continental East Asia. Black and white stones are placed on a grid to surround territory. Japanese play has its own scoring rules and a history of schools, newspaper games and professional associations.

The goban: a nineteen-line grid and a crafted object

A goban is the playing surface for Go stones. A standard board has nineteen lines in each direction, creating 361 intersections where stones are placed. Japanese equipment includes legged floor boards, thinner table boards and smaller grids for beginners.

Go stones: paired colours, different materials

Go stones divide the two players’ pieces into black and white. A traditional Japanese high-grade pairing uses white shell and black Nachiguro stone, while glass and plastic provide other options. Matching playing functions do not require matching production processes.

Super Mario Bros. (1985): running, jumping, and revised courses

Nintendo’s 1985 Super Mario Bros. is a side-scrolling action game. Players use running, controllable jumps, and power-ups to explore the Mushroom Kingdom, find hidden routes, and seek Princess Peach across eight worlds.

Breath of the Wild: choosing a route and testing a solution

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild launched for Nintendo Switch and Wii U on 3 March 2017. Link wakes after a century to defeat Calamity Ganon and save Zelda and Hyrule. Players choose their route and preparation.