As could be read in the Editorial about playing ZÈRTZ with additional rings:

"... First there was Yoshi Ikkai (J). He played several games per day for a period of four months and came up with the strategy of repositioning the marbles on the board by making sacrifices. His point of departure was simple: I can give whatever I want as long as the pay off will bring me closer to victory than my opponent. He showed his method of playing ZÈRTZ to Stephen Tavener (GB); he stuffed Stephen with 11 marbles to capture 4 white marbles himself. A hit! Stephen, amazed by Yoshi's approach of the game, got into practising long sequences of moves and went one step further: he specialized in combining capturing by jumping with capturing by isolation and, even more significant, he launched the sacrifice to prevent the opponent from getting "sente" (the initiative). This sacrifice concerns giving more than what you get yourself, with the purpose to remain in turn."

You want to know more about how Stephen Tavener's approaches a game of ZÈRTZ ? Then read the article he wrote about his strategies. It was initially published in four parts in Abstract Games, a fantastic magazine that is completely focussed on - as you may have guessed - abstract games.

Tip: use Michael Reitz's ZF1 for analizing positions on a ZÈRTZ board! Very easy to download, very practical to work with.




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