Balance Pai Sho
Playing materials
The board
Balance Pai Sho uses the basic Pai Sho board, using the intersections as spaces.
The tiles
As this is a single player Pai Sho game, the player recives 21 tiles, which are divided into Basic and Special tiles.
| Basic | Special |
|---|---|
| Badgermole (4) | Avatar (1) |
| Dragon (4) | Spirit (2) |
| Sky Bison (4) | White Lotus (2) |
| Koi (4) |
Basic tiles
The player recieves 4 of each tile. Each tile has two Harmonies and a Disharmony with one other tile. These Harmonies and Disharmonies connect along the lines.
Badgermole
- Harmonies: Dragon, Koi
- Disharmonies: Sky Bison
Dragon
Can only be placed in Red Zones or Neutral Zones.
- Harmonies: Badgermole, Sky Bison
- Disharmonies: Koi
Sky Bison
Only tile that may be placed in Gates.
- Harmonies: Dragon, Koi
- Disharmonies: Badgermole
Koi
Can only be placed in White Zones or Neutral Zones.
- Harmonies: Badgermole, Sky Bison
- Disharmonies: Dragon
Special tiles
All other tiles. The player recieves one Avatar tiles and two of each Spirit and White Lotus tiles.
Avatar
This tile starts in the middle of the board. It also connects in all eight directions and not just along the lines. It forms Harmonies and disharmonies with all tiles.
Spirit
Thie tile forms Disharmonies with all tiles. When this tiles is connected with the Avatar tile it creates two Disharmonies and one harmony.
White Lotus
This tile forms Harmonies with all tiles. When this time is connected with the Avatar tile it creates two Harmonies and one disharmony.
Playing the game
Setup
At the start of the game place the Avatar tile in the middle and put the tiles in a bag or face down, so you can draw them randomly.
Turn
During the turn draw a random tile and place it connected to the Avatar tile. All tiles coming into the game must be placed connecting to the avatar tile.
Ending the game
The game can end in one of four ways.
Empty bag
When you run out of tiles in the bag or face down, you procede to the scoring phase.
Count up the Harmonies and Disharmonies. Whichever of you have less, that is your final score. For example, if you have 10 Harmonies but only 7 Disharmonies, you count the 7 as your winning score.
Unbalance
If there are more Harmonies than Disharmonies, or more Disharmonies than Disharmonies then you achieve Unbalance.
Balance
If there are an equal amount of Harmonies and Disharmonies then you achieve Balance.
Harmony
If the amount of Harmonies add up to twenty, and Disharmonies add up to twenty, then you achieve Perfect Balance, or a perfect score.
Failure
When you cannot place any more tiles so that they are connected to the the Avatar tile along its eight paths, you lose and have a score of 0.