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Surakarta Strategy and Tips

Here is how to think about winning at Surakarta, split into short lessons. Each one reads on its own, and each one comes with a real position: press Try it on the board and you play the move yourself.

Trace a clear route

Lesson 1

A capture must travel along a line and around at least one corner loop. Continue straight through intersections after leaving the loop. Stop at the first opposing piece you encounter and remove it. You cannot use a loop just to travel a long distance to an empty point.

Tap your piece to preview the available captures. Follow an arrow from the starting point, around its loop and all the way to the target. Solid and dotted circuits obey the same capture rule. A piece belonging to either player blocks any route beyond it.

Here, move from B4 through the upper left loop to capture on D5. Capturing is optional: an ordinary step can sometimes protect another piece. Practise tracing this complete route before choosing the target.

Clear your own blocker

Lesson 2

Your own pieces block capture routes just as opposing pieces do. Seeing a target beyond a loop is not enough: every point before that target must be clear. If no capture is marked, trace the part before the loop and the part after it separately to locate the blocker.

Here your piece on B5 blocks the route leading upward from B4. Step from B5 to C4 to open that route. Check the destination as well as the starting point. Moving the blocker onto the exit line could close the same route somewhere else.

After this step the opponent moves. You cannot clear a route and capture with another piece in one turn. Inspect the position again when your turn returns, because the opponent may have changed the path. Prepare a route, then check it again before capturing.

Bring a corner piece into play

Lesson 3

A piece on a corner point cannot start a capture along a loop. The outer boundary lines do not lead into the corner arcs. Step onto the second or third line from a corner to gain access to a circuit. When your choices feel limited, check whether a corner piece could become useful.

In this position, move from A6 to B5. Diagonal steps are allowed by default, so this reaches a circuit line in one turn. At a table that disables diagonals, look for an empty orthogonal neighbour instead. An ordinary move always ends at an adjacent empty point.

Reaching a circuit does not guarantee a capture. Pieces still block the route, and a capture must pass through an arc before reaching its target. On a later turn, tap the piece and inspect its arrows. Bringing it out now prepares more choices for later.

Finish with the last capture

Lesson 4

Win by capturing every opposing piece. Even the last capture must travel around a loop. You cannot take the final piece simply by stepping onto an occupied neighbouring point. A distant target may be reachable if the circuit is clear, so trace the route rather than judging distance alone.

Here the opponent has one piece left on D5. Select your piece on B4 and follow its arrow through the upper left loop to D5. Taking that piece ends the game immediately. The opponent does not get another turn, and you do not wait for the quiet move limit.

If there is no route yet, use an ordinary step to improve your position. Watch both remaining counts and the number of moves without a capture. At the default limit, more pieces wins and equal counts draw; a table can choose to draw instead. In this exercise, finish with the available capture.

Try it on the board

Pick a lesson and the board starts from that position. Start over as often as you like.

Now put it to work

Play with friendsLearn how to play (3 min)

Last updated 2026-11-05 · Run by Qdan, Inc.