Arimaa/Introduction to Strategy

Strategy is focused on long-term positions. A threat may create an advantage which can gradually be built upon, even if no captures happen for a while.

Direct goal
The ultimate object of Arimaa is to get a friendly rabbit to goal. If the opponent pays any attention to defense, an early goal is unlikely. It is difficult to directly tear a hole into a well-defended goal line, as pushes and pulls can be blocked. Until there is a substantial opening in the goal line, a rabbit advance should not be regarded as progress toward a goal. A quick rabbit advance may be costly, since an advanced rabbit can never retreat. Defending a rabbit from capture is often untenable, as an elephant has more important things to do, and any other defender could be captured itself.

Capture
Capture threats are important, whether or not they lead to actual captures. A piece is captured only when it is on a trap square with no friendly piece beside it; there are many ways to prevent a capture. If nothing else, an elephant can camp out beside a trap where there is a threat; since nothing can dislodge an elephant, its friendly pieces can never be captured in a trap it stays next to.

Often, the key to progress is to make strong threats around two different traps. The enemy elephant can only defend one trap, and any other defender or rescuer could itself be at risk.

The simplest double threat is a fork between one's home traps. If a piece can be flipped in the center, it may be doomed to such a fork. This is one of many reasons both elephants might stay near the center. Although any piece can unfreeze a friend, an elephant can do so without putting itself at risk.

A rabbit near the center could be an easy target for a fork, since rabbits can't retreat homeward. This is one reason rabbits often do not begin in the middle. A piece dragged up on the edge would only be threatened in one trap. Many such pulls are not worth the time they use up.

Hostages
In the diagram, Gold has taken the silver camel hostage, threatening to capture it in c3 if the silver elephant leaves. The c4 cat could not defend the hostage alone, as the cat could itself be captured if the trap had no other silver defender. Since an elephant beside its home trap could normally pull a non-elephant enemy piece into the trap, this type of hostage can only be defended by an elephant or by a team of well-placed weaker pieces. A solid camel hostage will make the forces asymmetrical: with the gold elephant holding the silver camel hostage and the silver elephant defending it, the gold camel is the strongest free piece. Until something changes, there is not even a threat to a gold horse. With the gold camel and horse both active in the east, Gold might soon overload Silver's defenses. Having the strongest free piece is a large advantage, if that piece is well-positioned and supported by other pieces.

Without a strong alignment, holding a hostage can be costly. An elephant deadlock at one's home trap is a potential space disadvantage, since the opponent can safely advance pieces toward the deadlocked trap, but the home elephant is not available to ensure safe advances of its own friendly pieces. A home hostage-holder often can't easily leave, as the former hostage might then team up with its elephant to force captures in the trap, clearing space for a goal. In fact, the defending elephant often has better prospects for leaving; its friendly pieces might swarm the trap and soon defend it independently. That could be a devastating turn of events for a hostage-holder, as the enemy elephant might become the strongest free piece. To prevent an easy rotation by the defender, a hostage-holder should usually have an additional strong piece standing guard.

Given such costs, one must be selective about hostage-taking. Generally speaking, it is no good for an elephant to hold a horse hostage while the enemy camel is elsewhere. Conversely, it is usually fine for an elephant to defend a horse hostage held by the enemy elephant, as the defending elephant might hope to rotate out, or trade its horse for the enemy camel if that camel advances.

A camel could take a horse hostage, but a hostage-holding camel might be vulnerable to the "defending" elephant. To maintain a hostage position, a non-elephant hostage-holder may need supporting pieces. A solid horse-by-camel hostage can be quite effective, however, if the hostage-holder's own elephant is free.

Attacking
If a piece cannot be taken as a strong hostage, it can safely advance along with its elephant. If the enemy camel can be cut off from one wing, a horse might quickly advance on that wing. In the shown, the silver horses advanced with impunity because the gold camel was far away. Silver was not worried about the gold elephant taking a horse hostage, as this would not have given Gold an advantage.

To own a trap square is to be safe from capture therein while the opponent is not. A trap attack entails an attempt to gain ownership of an away trap and thus threaten several quick captures. Here, Silver has a strong attack on c3, where he can clean up unless the gold elephant moves to c4, which would leave the a6 dog to be captured in c6. An elephant can usually defend against a trap attack, but then will not be available elsewhere.

Seeing his overall weakness in the west, Gold looked east and counterattacked f6, but this was too late; Silver captured two gold pieces in c3 and then forced a rabbit through to goal. Even had the gold elephant defended c3, Gold's long-term prospects would have been bleak; more silver pieces could have advanced in the west, and the silver elephant likely could have gone elsewhere while the gold elephant remained stuck defending against an attack which would otherwise result in a quick goal by Silver. A strong trap attack will create a space advantage, capture threats, and potential goal threats. Had Gold attacked f6 sooner, a capture race might have ensued.

Home and away games
There are two basic plans: try to take control of an away trap, or threaten enemy pieces in one's home traps. Since rabbits can't retreat, they can in principle be pulled out gradually. Rabbit pulling was once routine, but fell out of favor as trap attacks caught on. One who simply chases and drags pieces may quickly find a home trap under siege, and may even face a goal threat from a pulled rabbit. Homeward pulling has its place, but should perhaps not be one's main strategy.

Instead of thinking in terms of home and away play, one should think about the whole board. For a while, any possible move could be met with a solid defense or counterattack. The object is to attain the stronger overall position.

Piece mobility
The elephants are extremely important, but cannot do everything at once. A recurring theme in Arimaa strategy is elephant mobility. Sometimes an elephant gets blockaded, but more often it is restricted by the cost of leaving a particular area. Before getting into a position that will require one's elephant to stay put, one must consider the enemy elephant's situation. If one elephant is even slightly more free than the other, this can snowball, since it affects how free other pieces are.

In the opening, camel mobility is of first concern. If a camel becomes stuck against the edge, even in home territory, the effect may be similar to that of a camel hostage. Sometimes a horse quickly advances on a flank, potentially threatening attack but also providing a way of escape for a friendly piece which might get stuck below it. Rabbits may likewise advance on the edges to keep stronger pieces mobile. When the camel is in the middle, a dog or cat might advance one row ahead and act as a linchpin, so that the camel can immediately retreat if it is pulled forward.

Strategy vs. tactics
Though strategy is vital, tactics should be considered first. A goal wins the game regardless of the rest of the board; a strong position may mean nothing if one forgets to defend goal. Beyond that, one must watch for hanging pieces and false protection. If a player is careless in this regard, the opponent might quickly gain ground.