A video game about a manga about a board game
Shion no Ou is a manga and anime series about a girl who sees her parents murdered, then watches as the murderer walks off with the "king" piece from the family's shogi board. She subsequently begins playing shogi in order to find the killer. Over time, the mute (from trauma) Shion begins enjoying the game, while continuing to search for clues about the shogi-playing killer's identity.
Sounds like a neat premise for a manga, but also the basis for a weirdly intense shogi game. It is targeted directly at the intersection between the board game, murder-mystery and junior-high drama crowds. Oh, and of course it includes a "learn to play shogi" mode, so go ahead and add the DS training game enthusiasts to the list!
