The two sides in Bagchal need opposite plans. The tigers want open space and loose goats to jump. The goats want a tight formation with no gaps, which slowly takes the tigers’ room away. If you’re new to the game, start with how to play.
The one idea behind everything
A tiger can only capture a goat when the point right behind that goat, on the same line, is empty. Almost every tip below comes from that rule: goats survive by never leaving an empty point behind a goat a tiger can reach, and tigers win by creating exactly that situation.
Tips for the goats
1. Start on the edges. A tiger can’t jump a goat toward the outside of the board, because there’s no point to land on, so a goat on the edge can only be attacked along the edge. A goat in a corner can never be captured at all.
2. Keep goats side by side. A goat with another piece right behind it is safe from that direction. Build rows and blocks, and add each new goat next to the ones already in place.
3. Check every new goat before you place it. Look at each tiger next to the point you’re about to fill. If the point beyond your goat, on the same line, is empty, the tiger can capture it next turn.
4. Watch out for forks. A fork is a tiger threatening two goats at once. You can block only one jump per turn, so you’ll lose the other goat. Avoid leaving two goats near the same tiger with empty points behind them.
5. Squeeze slowly. Fill the board from one side and push forward as a wall, keeping the line behind your front goats filled. A solid wall that advances one point at a time is much harder to break than goats spread around the board.
6. In part two, look behind before you move. Once all twenty goats are in, every goat turn means moving a goat, and the point it leaves may be exactly what was protecting its neighbor. Before moving a goat, check that its old point doesn’t open a jump.
7. Count your losses. The tigers need only five captures, so every goat matters. If you’ve lost three or four, play the safest move every turn and let the tigers run out of room.
Tips for the tigers
1. Stay on points with diagonals. These points connect to up to eight neighbors, so a tiger there has more moves, more chances to jump, and is much harder to trap. The center and the four points diagonally next to it, which all have eight neighbors, are the best of all.
2. Keep the tigers apart. Spread out so the goats can’t wall two tigers in at once. Tigers next to each other also block each other’s moves.
3. Strike early. Part one, while the goats are still coming in, is the tigers’ best chance. The goats have few pieces on the board and gaps everywhere. Once all twenty are in and in formation, captures get much harder.
4. Set up forks. Move to a point where one tiger threatens two goats, or where two tigers threaten one goat each. The goats can’t block everything in one turn.
5. Stay out of the corners. A tiger in a corner has only three neighbors, and it takes just six goats to trap it there. Leave the corners early and don’t get pushed back into them.
6. Keep a way out. Before each move, make sure every tiger still has at least two places to go. A tiger with only one exit can often be trapped with a single goat move.
7. Make the goats move. In part two, the goats have to move a goat every turn, and every move can open a gap. Keep your tigers close to the goats’ formation, so that any gap is one you can use.
Practice against the computer
Tigers vs Goats - Traditional Bagchal Game has five difficulty levels. Start at level 1 or 2 to learn how each side plays, and move up when you’re winning easily: higher levels look further ahead and make fewer mistakes. Play both sides, too: playing the tigers shows you which goat mistakes to avoid, and playing the goats shows you which tiger tricks to watch for. If you make a mistake, use Undo and try a different move.