In Paiko, a one-on-one turn-based strategy game, your main objective is to spread out your tiles and block off your opponent's, with the capture of your opponent's tiles being a pleasant secondary objective.

You win Paiko by earning 10 points, and you amass points by positioning your tiles in aggressive places on the board. You gain:

• 0 points for tiles in the safety of your own homeground
• 1 point for tiles in the even-footed middle ground
• 2 points for tiles in your opponent's homeground.

On your turn, you do one of three things: place a tile on the board, move a tile already on the board, or draw three more tiles of your choosing. You start the game with a hand of eight tiles (if white), or ten tiles (if black). Because Paiko has eight kinds of tiles, much strategy is involved in choosing your starting hand, and choosing when to spend time building your hand by drawing tiles.