Why the two sides need different plans
The tiger side has four mobile pieces and the only capturing power in the game. The goat side places twenty pieces before any goat can move. Tigers need five captures; goats need to close every legal tiger move and capture.
That asymmetry means the two sides measure progress differently. Tigers count captures. Goats count the moves their opponent has left. A game can look comfortable on one scoreboard and lost on the other.
What the tigers are trying to do
Tigers win by keeping capture lines open. A capture needs three things in a row on one drawn line: a tiger, a goat next to it, and an empty point directly beyond. The tiger player's job is to keep manufacturing that pattern before the goats can fill in the empty points behind their own pieces.
A capture removes a goat and opens two points, but the landing point may leave the tiger with fewer exits. Count the tiger's routes from the landing point and check where the goat player can block next.
What the goats are trying to do
Goats win by closing the normal moves and captures available to all four tigers. Protect a goat when its position helps that goal, and judge any offered capture by the tiger's landing point.
A goat cannot be jumped from one direction when the landing point behind it is occupied. Check each line separately. Two adjacent goats can close a jump along their shared line while either goat remains exposed from another direction.
How captures and routes interact
A goat placement can close a route, create a jump, or do both on different lines. A tiger capture removes a goat but can carry the tiger into a point with fewer exits.
Track the capture count with the remaining routes. Four captured goats put the goat side one legal jump from defeat. A tiger with few ordinary moves may still have the winning capture.
Habits that help whichever side you play
- Trace the line before you commit. Tiger, goat, empty point beyond, all on one drawn line. If you can see that pattern forming, so can your opponent.
- Count tiger routes. Track normal moves and captures, then inspect where each route ends.
- Respect the diagonals. Only thirteen points carry them. A point with diagonal lines has routes that a nearby point may lack.
- Leave yourself moves. Goats that cannot move are not a wall, they are a liability once placement ends.
Ready to go deeper? Take the goat side or the tiger side. If a rule is still unclear, the rule reference is the place to settle it.