Learning to play

Getting started with the app

The app is in preparation; its presentation is still being finalized. The features below already exist.

Making a move

• Tap one of your pieces, then the square it should go to. You can also drag it.
• When a capture is mandatory, the app only lets you play the captures allowed by the priorities. A multiple capture is played jump by jump with the same piece.
• The "undo" and "redo" buttons take back or replay a move.

Choosing your game

• Game mode: "Two players on this device" or "Against the engine". You can also switch sides.
• The computer's thinking time: Short (150 ms), Medium (500 ms), Long (1,500 ms). To start, the short time is enough.
• Suggest a move: the app suggests a move. The game is then marked as assisted.

Comfort

• The menu lets you resume the game, reread the rules, choose the light or dark theme, and reduce animations.
• You can enlarge the board: pinch on a touch screen, or Ctrl and mouse wheel on a computer. The "Move the board" mode then lets you drag it.
• The current game is saved on the device, with no connection needed.

A few tips for playing better

These tips come from players' experience. They are useful most of the time, but each has its exceptions: always check the possible captures before applying them.

Count before capturing or letting your opponent capture

Before each move, look at which captures your opponent will have next. Since capturing is mandatory, they will often have to play it; ask yourself where their piece will end up and what you can capture in return.

Use the obligation to capture

Since your opponent must capture, offering a man can lure them to a chosen square, from which you will make a longer multiple capture. This is the idea behind many combinations. Count the pieces on each side carefully: the priorities can change the capture they will play.

Hold the center

Men in the center of the board have more squares to go to and hinder the opponent's pieces. A man on the edge, on the other hand, can only advance on one side.

Keep your back rank

As long as your men occupy your back rank, your opponent cannot make a king there. Don't advance them too early, but don't leave them motionless until the end either.

Stay together

Men that support each other are harder to capture: a piece placed right behind another occupies the square where the opponent would need to land.