Captured pieces are truly "captured" in hand shogi. They are retained "in hand", and can be brought back into play under the capturing player's control. In addition, each player starts the game with ten pieces already in hand. On any turn, instead of moving a piece across the board, a player can take a piece he has previously captured or has in hand and place it on any empty square, facing the opponent. The piece is now part of the forces controlled by that player. This is termed "dropping" the piece, or just a "drop".