Tactics of Goats i.e How to win Baghchal as a Goat player

• Strategy 1: Work together to make a flock of goats
• Strategy 2: Secure rooms for quick win and competitive play
• Strategy 3: Occupy and don't lose the center room
• Strategy 4: Goat player wins when no valid moves are possible for tigers.

Strategy 1: Work together to make a flock of goats.

A single goat will be easy to become prey of the tiger because tiger can jump over it. So it is better to fill the capture room (space) with a goat in the next turn.

• Figure 1

The case of Figure 1, the tiger will try to capture a goat by jumping over to the point of red circle.

• Figure 2

Goat once put to point to capture room of a tiger then it is interlaced, tiger will not be able to jump the goat, as shown in Figure 2.

By using this as herding strategy goats will be safe from tiger. So on the next series of moves, you can place goats on adjacent rooms to form a flock. In this way the goats would team up proactively and form a system that can't be captured by the tiger. Below are some examples:

• Figure 3

In Figure 3, The goat piece placed in a upper left hand corner on the board, can't be captured by the tigers. In addition, two or more goat pieces placed together on the edges of the board (bottom edge of Figure 3) can never to be captured by the tiger. In the same way goat pieces placed in the shape of a combination of them can not be captured. (In the upper-right corner of Figure 3)

• Figure 4

Figure 4 develops on the Figure 3 moves. Taking the structure of trapezoid on the right side of the board and triangle system on the left, no tiger can capture these goats.

• Figure 5

Similar to Figure 4. The system filled with two rows from the edge and one column on the opposite edge can trap tigers quickly.

Strategy 2: Secure rooms for quick win and competitive play

During Phase 1, goat pieces can be cornered while filling the empty rooms on the board turn by turn. In this game, there are 4 tiger pieces and 20 goat pieces i.e total of 24 game piece, while the game grid have 25 rooms (points). So, in theory, it means that you can not win as a goat player if you do not make at least one room secure where none of the tigers can move or jump. That's your winning room.

• Figure 6

The case of Figure 6, (blue circle) has one secured room where tiger can't move to or jump. So don't place a next goat piece on the secured room unless there's no other way. No tigers can capture goats placed in the secured room. Also, secured rooms can be used for alternating turns when all moves of goats are unsafe.

• Figure 7

In Figure 7 (Blue circle) has 3 empty rooms which tigers can not jump to. If you made mistake as a goat player and your goats are captured you can secure rooms as described above in equal number of captured goats to offset the adverse position.

Strategy 3: Occupy and don't lose the center room

The center room of the board is very special in Baghchal game for the tigers because it has the most possible regular and capture moves from this spot. So, if goat player occupies the center room then the tigers become less powerful and they spread far from goat flocks. In particular, if the 4 tigers were lumped in the four corners on the board with a center goat piece, goats will be able to trap down the tigers in the fewest number of moves. The goat, after filling the board with tigers on three corners of the board should try to corner the last tiger on the remaining moves.

• Figure 8

Strategy 4: Goat player wins when no valid moves are possible for tigers.

• Figure 9 and 10

• Figure 11 and 12

• Figure 12 and 13

• Figure 14