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Triangles are one of the most powerful formations in Stymie.  They are flexible defensively and can launch attacks in multiple directions from several angles. In figure 1, it is Silver's turn and he has a few pretty good options.  E1 is open and bringing a stone into...

The second formation we'll discuss is the Diagonal.  In a vacuum, the Diagonal doesn't seem powerful at all.  It is prone to a double jump threat, and it doesn't present an immediate danger to the opposition.  However, when building an attack, or establishing a...

As you play Stymie more and more, you'll come to realize that formations are essential to any plan of attack, and also the backbone of any strong defensive position.  That is how you develop your pieces in this game.  Better players will learn to create combinations...

Many times when playing Stymie, a player will be faced with an attack that will leave him totally devastated if his opponent is able to execute his plan.  In the game illustrated in today's post, at first glance, the board looks fairly even, as both players have 6...

Were you able to see how Gold could establish a material advantage in the initial set up phase?  There are actually multiple answers.  G6, A2, B2 and B7 all work, but in the game referenced Gold placed a stone on G6. No matter what Silver plays now, he can't prevent...

In the following example Gold opened the setup phase by placing a stone on B5, followed by Silver F3, Gold D2, Silver E7. Gold can guarantee himself a one stone material advantage once players transition into the movement phase of the game.  Can you figure out how?...

I'll preface this entry with an introduction on how to use annotation for Stymie and how the pieces move.  If you are looking at the board and the logo is in the lower right corner, the space in the lower left corner is A1.  The space in the upper right corner is G7. ...

The idea for Stymie started forming totally unexpectedly one night at a Dave and Buster's in Dallas in 1988. I was working as a bellman at the Marriott Mandalay in Las Colinas Texas, and a group of co-workers was heading there after work one night and a girl I was...