Board Game Arena

If player 1, who is the 2nd player to place a piece, mirrors the other player turn after turn, is there any way for Player 2 to counter this and win?

If not, the game needs a rule tweak not to be broken.

Draw a line of symmetry diagonally, and mirror every move until Player 2 sets up a win for you.

Is there any way for Player 2 to win against optimal play?

jwandke wrote: ↑18 March 2026, 02:17 If player 1, who is the 2nd player to place a piece, mirrors the other player turn after turn, is there any way for Player 2 to counter this and win?

If not, the game needs a rule tweak not to be broken.

How about tweaking the rules to say that on his first placement, player 1 may not play the exact same piece player 2 played on his first turn? After that, no restrictions outside the normal rules. Would that solve the problem?

That‘s really a great idea

Lumpia-sushi showed me that an exact mirror every move is impossible to beat.
PietusMaximus showed me that playing the same piece, even when not mirrored, is also impossible to beat.

That kind of pattern-play may be hard to prohibit with a single one move tweak, since a player might avoid a exact copy at the start, but then reconnect to it a turn or two later.

Thank you for your feedback!

Advanced mode is now added in BGA implementation.
It basically forbids the player to play the exact same piece which is just played by opponent player. With one exception that if it is the only piece that is valid, then the player can play it.
This can solve the mirror problem and hope it won't affects too much of the game play.

We have recently adjusted the rules. Players can no longer make mirror moves.

Best, regards
Designer