Lately, I’ve been playing a lot of beginners in Pai Sho and I’ve noticed a common problem that most of them are having; they’re not aware of how to appropriately place their accent tiles to block their opponent. Harmonising and accent tiles are very unique to this game and it can take time to get used to that aspect of the game and be able to look ahead, but hopefully, this article will speed up the process.

The tip that I give most beginners is “if your opponent is only one move away from a harmony ring, you have to block them in more ways than one because a wheel or boat can usually get past the first block”. This is something that I learnt early on and I feel like has improved the way I play and helped me with my accent tile awareness.

For example, let’s look at this position:

It’s currently the host’s turn and the guest is only one move away from forming a harmony ring, this means that the host has to try and block the guest from forming that ring. A common mistake that a new player might make is playing R3 (0, 4)-(0, 2) and placing a rock at position (1, 0). They’re on the right track, thinking about using the rock to block the harmony between the R3 at (1, 6) and the W5 at (1, -2), but they have to realise that the rock can simply be removed with a boat tile. The guest just needs to play R3 (1, 6)-(1, 3) and use their harmony bonus to play a boat tile and remove the rock. It’s important to remember the tip I gave earlier. Playing a rock to (1, 0) only does one kind of block; blocking the harmony between the R3 at (1, 6) and the W5 at (1, -2). But as I said above, a boat can easily get around it.

Another play a beginner player might make is R3 (0, 4)-(0, 2) and placing a knotweed at (0, -1). In theory, this does follow the rule I gave above because it blocks the harmony between W5 (1, -2) and R2 (1, 6) as well as block the harmony between W5 (1, -2) and R3 (-6, -2). But, this play can just as easily get around that knotweed by removing it with a boat by playing R3 (1, 6)-(1, 3) + BT (0, -1). It’s the same issue as above, it can easily be removed with a boat.

Let’s look at another play the host might make: R3 (0, 4)-(0, 2) + RK (1, 3). This move is a little better and shows that the host is thinking about their moves a little more, it follows the tip that I gave above about blocking two separate ways, but in this situation, this isn’t the correct move. In a lot of cases, playing a rock to the position where their last flower tile wants to move to is the correct move, but not in this case. The guest can easily get around that rock by playing W5 (-6, 3)-(-6, 6) and removing the rock at (1, 3) with a boat.

So what can the host do in this position? There’s not a lot they can do due to being so far behind, but one play that can be made so that the guest can’t get a harmony ring during their next turn is R3 (0, 4)-(0, 2) + BT (1, -2)-(2, -3). This move disrupts guest’s harmony ring in more ways than one. It severs two differharmoniesmony while pushing a flower tile out of the way and placing a boat in the way making it difficult for the guest to restore their harmony ring.

I hope this article helped you understand the basics about stopping your opponent from getting a harmony ring. If you remember the tip that I gave you at the start of this article and apply it in the right situations, it can improve your Pai Sho play and overall allow you to play better games. If there are any topics you would like me to write about in the future, please comment or contact me and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.