Tips quattuorreges

Setup

Detailed setup tips, along with other strategic advice, can be found in the Quattuor Reges Strategy Primer.

It's best to avoid placing Aces on the front rank of your territory, as they risk being immediately captured by a 8 crossing the neutral territory in a single movement.

Putting pieces of only one suit in a single area will make it harder to mount a successful defense in case of an attack, as only one piece in this area would be able to react each turn.

General Considerations

Queens, Kings and Aces are the most important pieces, as they alone can be used to achieve victory. Therefore, it's important to consider whether your defense against them is appropriate along the whole width of the board. For example an single Ace is sufficient to protect against an attack by a combination of any of the winning pieces. However, if the attacking piece is accompanied by a 8, a single Ace defense will become inadequate and would need to be reinforced by other pieces, for example a 9 that might be quick enough to intercept the 8.

After the defense is solidified, it's necessary to look for weaknesses in opponent's defenses where a timely attack could breach through to reach the final rank of the board. Such attack is usually performed by a pair of pieces of different suit, protecting each other from possible capture along the way. For example, if a side of the opponent's territory is protected by a King, a Jack and a 8, an option would be to attack with a Queen and a Jack. The Queen would push towards the victory with Jack protecting it from a possible capture by a King, and the opponent's Jack and 8 becoming powerless without extra reinforcements.

Piece Utilization

• 🃏 7s are good for protecting Kings against Jacks and Aces, the only pieces that can capture them
• 🃏 8s are especially useful for hunting Aces or quick piece rescues by slipping past the defenses to the last rank
• 🃏 9s can often protect Aces against opponent's 8s as their movement range is only a single space less
• 🃏 10s are the slowest Number pieces, but they provide protection both from Aces and all other Numbers. Their relatively low value makes them useful for forcing exchanges
• 🃏 Jacks provide protection against a combination of Number pieces and Kings
• 🃏 Queens are good offensive pieces as they can only be targeted by Kings and Aces
• 🃏 Kings are extremely important since they provide mobility to their suit, but can also be used as offensive pieces in suitable circumstances
• 🃏 Aces have good balance of offensive and defensive power and sometimes can capture pieces without forcing an exchange due to their retreat power, but they need to be protected from Numbers to be effective