Most games here are played with a clock. Each player has their own main time; only the clock of the player to move runs.
Byoyomi 秒読み
The shogi-native format. When your main time runs out you enter byoyomi: from then on you have a fixed number of seconds for every move, for the rest of the game. Move within them and the count starts fresh on your next turn; use them all up and you lose on time.
| Written | Means |
|---|---|
| 10 min + 30 s byoyomi | Ten minutes of main time, then 30 seconds per move |
| 5 min + 10 s byoyomi | Five minutes, then 10 seconds per move |
| 3 min + 10 s byoyomi | Three minutes, then 10 seconds per move |
Ranked games use exactly those three.
Fischer
Offered for casual games. Instead of byoyomi, a few seconds are added to your clock after each move you make — "10 min + 5 s per move". Time you don't use carries over.
Correspondence
No clock at all: make your move whenever you like, and the game waits. A correspondence game left untouched for a week is ended as abandoned.
The server keeps the time
Your clock is kept by the server, not your browser. If your connection drops or you close the tab, your clock keeps running — and a player whose time runs out loses even if they never come back. A move that arrives after your time has run out doesn't count.