Tips battleoflits

The central strategy, with each piece played, is to cover as many of your opponent's symbol as possible while also covering as few of your own symbol as possible. If you're just starting, this is a good strategy for a basic game. As you get more familiar with the game there are a few more subtle aspects that can help you challenge more veteran players and win. For the purpose of these tips, Let's consider your symbols to be X and the opponent therefore playing as O.

Move Strength

Since Battle Of LITS only compares the final number of symbols visible, the actual count of symbols covered/showing doesn't matter directly. Only the difference in covered/showing symbols for each side. So we'll devise a notation for the strength of a move where positive numbers increase your lead or decrease your opponent's while negative numbers increase your opponent's lead.

Covering Squares

Each piece played covers four squares, so if we consider only those squares a move that covers four O's would be a +4 move with this notation, while a move that covers 1 O and 2 X would be a -1. This is the basic strategy most players employ when starting.

Protecting Squares

Each play also has the potential to protect squares as well. The Red L, Blue S, and Green T all have 1 (for L) or 2 (for S and T) squares that can no longer be covered once the piece is played. We'll call those protected squares. If a piece played puts an X in a protected square, let's increase the value of that move by 1, just as if it had covered an O. Likewise if it protects an O we'll decrease the value of that move by 1. So placing an S in the following board section so that it covers all of the Os would count as a +6 move.

O	O	X
X	O	O

There are other ways to protect squares as well. By taking advantage of the edge of the board so that no piece fits in between it and the piece you played. I is often a good piece for these moves. Sometimes also using up the last of a the only piece that will fit in a particular spot can also protect your symbols, or at least remove a particularly strong move for your opponent elsewhere on the board.

There's also more nuanced aspects to this as well. A square could be protected by two separate pieces, but the second piece played didn't affect the score with that protected square, so it wouldn't be counted in the strength of the move. Each piece also has semi-protected squares along it's straight edges, since only one of the two X squares next to an I square can be covered. The number system breaks down if you try to take all of this into account, but it's still a place to start.

Exposing Squares

Each piece placed, in the beginning of the game through the middle, often also allows new squares to be reached on subsequent rounds that couldn't have been reached before. To expand on the above example let's consider the following corner of a board. In this case the squares with I have been covered by a Yellow I tile.

X	X	O	O	X	I
X	O	X	O	O	I
X					I

The +6 play for the S we considered above now exposes a -5 play of an L for your opponent. The move is still slightly to your advantage but nowhere near as strong. A slightly stronger move here is to play the +4 T, covering three O and an empty square while protecting 1 X and an empty square. That forces your opponent to cover at least one O themselves in order to take any X, as well as protect one X if they play an L or S. Reducing their best move from a -5 to a -2.

There are other more subtle ways pieces played can affect the board. Using up all five of a particular tile for instance might end the game early or, as mentioned earlier, protect squares not even close to where the piece was played. BGA helpfully highlights which squares can be covered by a piece both on your turn and your opponent's turns. Watch which squares become protected when you play a piece and which squares can newly be attacked to help get a feel for the full effects of a move.

Starting the Game

Battle of LITS employs a Pie Rule where the second player can choose to switch sides and become the first player if they think the first move puts them at too much of a disadvantage. As such, a good first move is somewhat difficult to quantify. That said, some general advice.

The players usually place 6, 7 or 8 tiles each during the match. Thus the matches often end in an Even number of total tiles placed. Since the player who goes 2nd during the match then usually will place the last piece in the game... and equal score gives the win to the player who puts the last tile... Choosing to go 2nd can be smart. But ONLY if going 2nd looks like a win or draw.... It can be somewhat difficult to judge these things, especially when you're first starting.

Many players, upon learning of the Pie Rule, will then make a neutral (0 value) move when they have to place the first piece. This usually means your opponent will agree to go second and you get to keep that move, but it also gives them the opportunity to set the pace of the game. You will all but inevitably be starting with a deficit of -3 or more on your next turn when you make a neutral start.

For similar reasons starting with a +3 or higher move can be dangerous, as the stronger your opening, the more likely it is that your opponent will take one look and choose to go first, meaning once again you are starting with a -3 or higher deficit to overcome. The point is to try to make the game more fair, not to try to give all the first player advantage to the second player.

An opening move of +1 or +2 is usually a pretty safe start, unless the board really doesn't offer any such moves. This means that if your opponent chooses to go second, you can still end up not to far behind, and if they choose to go first you can potentially make up the difference and come out ahead again after your first move. When choosing where to place that first piece it is very worth considering what you would do were you forced to be the second player in this game as well as how you would respond to such a move. If you can think further along by all means, but I've found that two moves is more that I can reliably predict anyway.

For the second player, the choice to go first or second follows more or less the same logic. Would giving the other player a move to start, of off the piece played, that they know they get to keep, put them at a significant lead? If yes then go second and make that move. If not, then maybe see if the first player is in a better position.