Strategy and Tactics
The simplicity of the rules can be deceiving: Shih demands that players plan carefully. The combinations players may use to produce successful attacks make defending your pieces difficult, doubly so when pressing an attack. A planned attack can become a fight for survival, simply because a player miscalculated by one MP. Other times, what seems like a simple capture can turn into a nightmare lasting many turns as the defending player breaks the attacker's lines and leaves double walls in his piece's wake. Through it all, however, there are some basics every good player must remember.
First, develop a sense of tempo. Chess, Checkers, Go, and other popular board games require players to time their actions properly, and Shih shares this trait. Shih, however, also allows players to take multiple actions per turn. This complicates both offensive and defensive planning, making timing a key element of play. Let's see how this is true.
Consider a situation in which a blue piece has a wall on one side (the wall attached to the space it occupies) and red pieces on the other two, though with no walls between the blue piece and the red pieces:
The blue piece is immobilized, but the situation is anything but a guaranteed capture in many cases. In order for red to make the capture, he will have to expend 4MP (each piece will have to step back one space, and two walls will have to be moved into position), assuming blue does nothing to slow this all down. That translates into at least two full turns. While this may still seem like a bad situation for blue, let's consider how this could go wrong for red.
Red steps off and spins a wall closed against the blue piece, and all looks good, but now it is blue's turn:
Blue rotates the wall again, this time using it to block the red piece that moved away, and then he steps onto the space, yielding this position:
How does this help blue? If this action opens an escape route (downward in the sample image), blue has just evaded capture in the immediate situation, unless a third red piece is there to close off the exit. Furthermore, because he is now on the space he just rotated, red would have to expend a Power Spin to regain control of the situation. Barring either a red blockade below or a red Power Spin, if blue then runs, he has a head start on his pursuers, made greater any time red tries to use anything more than one piece in the chase because he will have to divide his MPs.
This is not always going to be the situation when blue is flanked like that--he may well lack an exit in the direction in which red backed away (in the last image above, a wall or a red piece would be below his position). Even in that situation, he can buy a turn at the expense of a single MP, simply by rotating the space away from himself, undoing one of red's MPs and leaving red with the need to spend 3MP from that point forward in order to complete the capture (turning what began as 4MP into 5MP). Worse, if red wants to guarantee the capture, he has to spend 4MP (spin the space closed again and step onto it before, on his next turn, stepping away on the other side and spinning that wall closed). This scenario requires red to expend a total of 6MP in order to make a capture while blue spends 1MP. That leaves blue 5MP to spend elsewhere in harrassing other red pieces or mounting a rescue or counterattack.
Proper planning can prevent this type of situation. Imagine a similar situation, but instead of having both red pieces right against the blue, one is a space away. Now red, if it is the beginning of his turn, can only be slowed down or stopped by a Power Spin. Here's an example of this situation:
The red piece to the left of the blue piece rotates the wall of the intervening space closed against the blue piece and then steps onto the space, locking it down:
Blue cannot move, but this time he has walls on two sides. On red's next turn (provided the second red piece was not lost and blue did not use a Power Spin to cause problems), red simply steps away and closes the wall for a capture. It still took two turns to complete, but it can't easily be prevented. Here is the sweet sight of red's victory:
The difference in these two scenarios, at least at the outset, is positioning; however, the difference in their executions is tempo, as expressed by combinations of moves. Excluding the use of a Power Spin, there are four combinations of moves that can apply to a single piece in one turn (note that the player may divide his MPs between two pieces, but these four are worth closer study): step-step, spin-spin, step-spin, and spin-step. Each has its own applications within the game, and players need to be aware of the proper application of each.
The step-step combination is the most basic application of 2MP to a single piece in one turn. By using this, the player can close great distances relatively quickly. Often these will come up early in a game or after the loss of one or more key forward pieces.
The spin-spin is perhaps the least common use of 2MP by one piece in a single turn. This is only valuable when an enemy has enclosed his own pieces in walls (which does not generate a capture or sacrifice) and you happen to be close enough to open and then close again one of those walls. Don't expect to see this too often, but be aware of opportunities that may arise.
The step-spin is often used by an attacker to finish a capture, either by moving toward a vulnerable enemy piece or to move away from and capture an immobilized one (see the last red move in the successful capture above). A defender being pursued can also use this to open new escape paths, possibly luring a pursuer into a trap. On a more subtle level, if an attacker locks down a wall against your piece, you may be able to step off and spin the freshly vacated space's wall closed, forming a double wall that would take the pursuing piece more than two turns to penetrate.
The spin-step is useful both on offense and in defense. On offense, as we saw above, it can close a wall against an immobilized enemy piece and prevent the newly placed wall from being turned away. Similarly, in defense, again as we saw above, this can frustrate an inbound attacker, opening an escape or blocking an advance. Use this when you need to force your opponent in a new direction.
Finally, of course, there is the proper use of the Power Spin. It can be tempting to use a Power Spin against a vulnerable group of enemy pieces, but this is only a good idea if you can afford an equivalent loss. Once your opponent is in the lead, using a Power Spin to capture n pieces when opponent's score is at least 9-n will cost you the game. Instead, try to reserve your Power Spins for breaking defensive lines or setting up captures that you will complete with normal spins, which won't cost you any pieces in sacrifice.
The blue piece is immobilized, but the situation is anything but a guaranteed capture in many cases. In order for red to make the capture, he will have to expend 4MP (each piece will have to step back one space, and two walls will have to be moved into position), assuming blue does nothing to slow this all down. That translates into at least two full turns. While this may still seem like a bad situation for blue, let's consider how this could go wrong for red.
Red steps off and spins a wall closed against the blue piece, and all looks good, but now it is blue's turn:
Blue rotates the wall again, this time using it to block the red piece that moved away, and then he steps onto the space, yielding this position:
How does this help blue? If this action opens an escape route (downward in the sample image), blue has just evaded capture in the immediate situation, unless a third red piece is there to close off the exit. Furthermore, because he is now on the space he just rotated, red would have to expend a Power Spin to regain control of the situation. Barring either a red blockade below or a red Power Spin, if blue then runs, he has a head start on his pursuers, made greater any time red tries to use anything more than one piece in the chase because he will have to divide his MPs.
This is not always going to be the situation when blue is flanked like that--he may well lack an exit in the direction in which red backed away (in the last image above, a wall or a red piece would be below his position). Even in that situation, he can buy a turn at the expense of a single MP, simply by rotating the space away from himself, undoing one of red's MPs and leaving red with the need to spend 3MP from that point forward in order to complete the capture (turning what began as 4MP into 5MP). Worse, if red wants to guarantee the capture, he has to spend 4MP (spin the space closed again and step onto it before, on his next turn, stepping away on the other side and spinning that wall closed). This scenario requires red to expend a total of 6MP in order to make a capture while blue spends 1MP. That leaves blue 5MP to spend elsewhere in harrassing other red pieces or mounting a rescue or counterattack.
Proper planning can prevent this type of situation. Imagine a similar situation, but instead of having both red pieces right against the blue, one is a space away. Now red, if it is the beginning of his turn, can only be slowed down or stopped by a Power Spin. Here's an example of this situation:
The red piece to the left of the blue piece rotates the wall of the intervening space closed against the blue piece and then steps onto the space, locking it down:
Blue cannot move, but this time he has walls on two sides. On red's next turn (provided the second red piece was not lost and blue did not use a Power Spin to cause problems), red simply steps away and closes the wall for a capture. It still took two turns to complete, but it can't easily be prevented. Here is the sweet sight of red's victory:
The difference in these two scenarios, at least at the outset, is positioning; however, the difference in their executions is tempo, as expressed by combinations of moves. Excluding the use of a Power Spin, there are four combinations of moves that can apply to a single piece in one turn (note that the player may divide his MPs between two pieces, but these four are worth closer study): step-step, spin-spin, step-spin, and spin-step. Each has its own applications within the game, and players need to be aware of the proper application of each.
The step-step combination is the most basic application of 2MP to a single piece in one turn. By using this, the player can close great distances relatively quickly. Often these will come up early in a game or after the loss of one or more key forward pieces.
The spin-spin is perhaps the least common use of 2MP by one piece in a single turn. This is only valuable when an enemy has enclosed his own pieces in walls (which does not generate a capture or sacrifice) and you happen to be close enough to open and then close again one of those walls. Don't expect to see this too often, but be aware of opportunities that may arise.
The step-spin is often used by an attacker to finish a capture, either by moving toward a vulnerable enemy piece or to move away from and capture an immobilized one (see the last red move in the successful capture above). A defender being pursued can also use this to open new escape paths, possibly luring a pursuer into a trap. On a more subtle level, if an attacker locks down a wall against your piece, you may be able to step off and spin the freshly vacated space's wall closed, forming a double wall that would take the pursuing piece more than two turns to penetrate.
The spin-step is useful both on offense and in defense. On offense, as we saw above, it can close a wall against an immobilized enemy piece and prevent the newly placed wall from being turned away. Similarly, in defense, again as we saw above, this can frustrate an inbound attacker, opening an escape or blocking an advance. Use this when you need to force your opponent in a new direction.
Finally, of course, there is the proper use of the Power Spin. It can be tempting to use a Power Spin against a vulnerable group of enemy pieces, but this is only a good idea if you can afford an equivalent loss. Once your opponent is in the lead, using a Power Spin to capture n pieces when opponent's score is at least 9-n will cost you the game. Instead, try to reserve your Power Spins for breaking defensive lines or setting up captures that you will complete with normal spins, which won't cost you any pieces in sacrifice.