How to Play Len Choa

By Jaques of London · Est. 1795 · Updated 2026-08-17

Len Choa is a two-player abstract strategy game from Thailand in which one player commands a single tiger and the other commands a group of smaller pieces, traditionally representing fish or prey. The asymmetry is the heart of the game: the tiger is powerful and can capture by leaping, while the fish win through sheer numbers and coordinated blocking.

Players love it because the imbalance creates two completely different puzzles at the same table. The tiger player must hunt aggressively before being hemmed in; the fish player must think in formation rather than individually. Games are short, the rules fit on one page, and the tension rarely lets up from the first move.

A little history

Len Choa is traditionally associated with Thailand, where versions of asymmetric hunt games have been played for generations, often scratched onto flat surfaces or stone. Its precise origins are unclear, and reliable documentation of when or where the specific rules were formalised is thin. The game belongs to a widespread family of hunt games found across Asia, including Bagh-Chal from Nepal and various Tiger-and-Goat games across South and South-East Asia, all of which share the same predator-versus-prey structure.

Setting up

1. Place the board flat between both players so each can see the grid clearly.
2. Identify the starting point for the tiger: traditionally the centre intersection of the board.
3. Place the tiger piece on that centre point.
4. The fish player holds all 10 fish pieces off the board; they will enter during play rather than starting in fixed positions.
5. Agree which player takes the tiger and which takes the fish. For a first game, give the fish to the less experienced player as the role is generally considered easier to learn.

How to play

1. The fish player moves first. On each turn, the fish player either places one new fish piece onto any empty intersection on the board, or moves one fish already on the board one step along a line to an adjacent empty intersection.
2. Once all 10 fish are on the board, the fish player may only move existing pieces; no more placements occur.
3. On each turn, the tiger moves one step along a line to an adjacent empty intersection, OR captures a fish by leaping over it to the empty intersection directly beyond it along the same line. The leaped fish is removed from the board.
4. The tiger may only capture in a straight line along a marked line of the grid. Diagonal captures are not permitted unless a diagonal line is explicitly drawn on the board in use.
5. Only one fish may be captured per turn; the tiger cannot chain multiple captures in a single move.
6. Players alternate turns strictly: fish, tiger, fish, tiger. There is no passing.
7. The fish pieces cannot capture the tiger and cannot leap over any piece.
8. A fish may not move onto an occupied intersection under any circumstances.
9. The tiger must move or capture on every turn; it cannot pass even if all available moves are unfavourable.

Winning and scoring

The tiger wins by capturing enough fish that the remaining fish cannot surround it, traditionally when five or more fish have been taken off the board, leaving the fish player unable to muster sufficient pieces to block all exits. The fish win by surrounding the tiger completely so that it has no empty adjacent intersection to move to and no fish it can leap over to escape. A tiger that is fully enclosed with no legal move is trapped and the fish player wins immediately.

The fine points

The most common dispute concerns whether the tiger is truly trapped or merely appears to be. Before declaring a fish victory, the fish player must confirm that every intersection adjacent to the tiger is occupied and that no adjacent fish has an empty space directly behind it on the same line, which would allow a capture-escape. Both players should verify this together before the result is accepted. If any legal tiger move exists, play continues.

A second frequent issue is the moment at which all fish are deemed to be on the board. Placement and movement are separate actions: a fish player cannot place a new piece and then also move an existing piece on the same turn. If a player forgets this and touches two pieces in one turn, the standard ruling is that the first piece touched must be the one played, provided touching it was intentional. Accidental contact with a piece while reaching across the board does not bind the player to that piece.

How to win more often

• As the tiger, move toward the edge early: a tiger near the centre can be surrounded from all sides, whereas a tiger near a board edge reduces the number of directions fish can approach from.
• As the fish, build a wall rather than chasing the tiger individually. A coordinated line of fish that advances together is far harder for the tiger to break through than scattered pieces.
• As the tiger, always look two moves ahead for a capture: if you move to position A, will a fish block your escape before your next turn? A capture that lands you in a dead end is worse than no capture at all.
• As the fish, avoid leaving isolated pieces in open space. A lone fish adjacent to the tiger is an easy meal. Keep pieces connected so that capturing one does not open a gap for the tiger to exploit.
• Both players should count captured fish aloud or set them visibly to one side. Losing track of the tally leads to misjudging how close the tiger is to winning, which costs the fish player the game more often than any single tactical error.

Variations

Larger Fish Count

Some regional versions use 12 or even 15 fish instead of 10, making it significantly harder for the tiger to win by attrition. This tilts the balance toward the fish and is recommended when the tiger player is noticeably stronger, to keep games competitive.

Two Tigers

A more demanding variant places two tiger pieces on the board at the start, each controlled by the same player. The fish count rises to 15 to compensate. Coordinating two predators adds considerable complexity for the tiger player and makes surrounding both pieces a genuine puzzle for the fish side.

Restricted Entry Points

Rather than allowing fish to enter on any empty intersection, this variation designates four or six specific entry points at the edges of the board. Fish must queue and enter only through those gates. This slows the fish deployment phase and gives an aggressive tiger more time to pick off pieces before a defensive formation can form.

Timed Turns

Each player is given 30 seconds per turn using a simple sand timer or clock. This variation removes the ability to calculate at length and rewards players who have internalised positional patterns. It is particularly popular as a casual, high-energy format and works well with younger players who lose focus during longer deliberations.

Len Choa: frequently asked questions