Skud Pai Sho

Visit the new Skud Pai Sho

pages at:
SkudPaiSho.com/site
Play online at SkudPaiSho.com or get in
touch on Twitter @SkudPaiSho

Click here for the

printable version of
the rules. Read those
rules first.

This page has the full

Pai Sho Board
comprehensive rules.
For an overview of the
game, watch this video and take a look at
the Pai Sho Resources page.

Skud Pai Sho (simply called Pai Sho

throughout these rules) is a Pai Sho variant
based heavily on the various existing
community rules, intended to be a
comprehensive set of rules that make the
game fun, competitive, and strategic. Learn
more here.

Skud Pai Sho is based on the Wiki Pai Sho

tile set. See Buying Pai Sho for reviews of
available Pai Sho boards and tiles you can
buy to play. You can also play online at
skudpaisho.com.

Overview of Play
The object of Pai Sho is to arrange your tiles
in a certain way (creating what are called
Harmonies between tiles, which will be
explained later) and prevent your opponent
from achieving the same goal.

In Pai Sho…

Players take turns moving and placing

tiles on the board
Tiles are placed on the intersections of
the lines as opposed to inside the
squares. These intersections are
referred to as points on the board.

Tiles
Each player has his or her own full set of
tiles. Let’s look at what these tiles are and
how many of each are in a set.

There are two main types of tiles: Basic

Flower Tiles and Special Tiles. We’ll talk
about the details on how these tiles move
and any special effects they have later.

Basic Flower Tiles

Basic tiles are split into Red Flower tiles and
White Flower tiles.

Red Flowers

Rose x3
Chrysanthemum x3
Rhododendron x3

White Flowers

Jasmine x3
Lily x3
White Jade x3

Special Tiles
Special tiles are split into Accent tiles and
Special Flower tiles.

Accent Tiles

Rock x2
Wheel x2
Knotweed x2
Boat x2

Special Flowers

Orchid x1
White Lotus x1

Note: The White Lotus tile does not count as

a Basic White Flower Tile. It is a Special
Flower Tile.

Starting the Game

Decide which player will be the Host and
which player will be the Guest.

The Host chooses 4 of his Accent Tiles to

use during the game, and then the Guest
chooses 4 of his Accent Tiles. The
remaining Accent Tiles are set aside and not
used during the game. Alternately, the Host
may choose to allow only one of each
Accent Tile to be given to each player if he
wishes.

Then, the Guest places a Basic Flower Tile in

the Gate nearest to them. The Host places
one of the same kind of tile in the opposite
Gate (Gates are explained later).

Then, the Guest has the first move.

Note: For a quicker game, have the Host

start with a Clashing tile instead of the same
tile as the Guest.

Playing A Turn
On your turn, you choose to either Arrange
or Plant.

Arranging – Moving Tiles

If you choose to Arrange on your turn, move
one of your Flower Tiles that is on the board
and perform a Harmony Bonus action if
applicable (tile movement and Harmony
Bonus will be explained later).

Planting – Placing Tiles

If you choose to Plant, place a Basic Flower
Tile in an open Gate.

Growing and Blooming

Flower Tiles that are in a Gate are
considered Growing.

Flower Tiles that have been moved out of

their Gate are considered Blooming.

Harmony and Disharmony

Two tiles form a Harmony if they are:

Harmonious tiles belonging to the

same player that are both Blooming
On the same vertical or horizontal line
with no other tiles or Gates between
them

Flowers on the board are not allowed to

Clash, or be in a state of Disharmony.
Disharmony is similar to Harmony, but is not
allowed to exist on the board and involves
both players’ tiles. No move may be made if
the move would result in any two tiles
Clashing. A Disharmony would be created
between two tiles if they are:

Tiles that Clash with each other,

belonging to either player, and are both
Blooming
On the same vertical or horizontal line
with no other tiles or Gates between
them

See the Basic Flower Properties section to

see what tiles are Harmonious with each
other and which tiles Clash with each other.

Note: It is sometimes hard to notice that a

move causes tiles to Clash. That is okay. Use
these guidelines during play:

If your opponent attempts to make a

move that causes tiles to Clash, let him
know that he cannot make that move.
If at any point during a game both
players notice that tiles have been
illegally moved to form a Disharmony,
remove the Clashing tiles from the
board and return each of them to their
owner’s hand of tiles.

Harmony Bonus
When you choose to Arrange during your
turn and your move creates one or more
new Harmonies between your tiles on the
board (a new Harmony is a Harmony
between tiles that were not in Harmony with
each other before the move), you may
perform one of the following actions as a
Harmony Bonus:

If you have no Growing Flower Tiles,

play a Basic Flower Tile as if you were
Planting by placing it in any open Gate
Play an Accent Tile on the board and
activate its special effect
Play a Special Flower Tile as if you
were Planting by placing it in any open
Gate

You only get one Harmony Bonus action per

turn, regardless of how many Harmonies
you create when moving a tile, or if
additional Harmonies are created from the
effects of playing an Accent Tile during a
Harmony Bonus action.

Capturing Tiles
When a Basic Flower Tile lands on an
opponent’s Basic Flower Tile that it Clashes
with, the tile that is landed on is captured.

Only Blooming Flower Tiles can be captured.

Growing Flower Tiles cannot be captured.

Capture abilities of Special Flower Tiles are

explained in the Special Tile Properties
section.

When a tile is captured, remove it from the

board. It is not used during the rest of the
game.

Basic Flower Tile Properties

Each Flower Tile has its own movement and
Harmony abilities. Tiles cannot move over
other tiles, but may change direction any
number of times as they move.

Basic Flower Tiles can be referenced by

shorter names, such as Red 3 or White 5,
indicating their color and how far they can
move. It’s also easy to remember which tiles
are Harmonious or Clash with each other.
The order of the tiles is a circle: Red 3, Red
4, Red 5, White 3, White 4, White 5. A tile
may form Harmonies with the tiles next to it
in the circle (for example, White 5 is
Harmonious with White 4 and Red 3). A tile
Clashes with its opposite tile (for example,
Red 3 Clashes with White 3).

Red Flowers

Rose (Red 3)

Can move up to 3 spaces

Harmonious with White Jade and
Chrysanthemum
Clashes with Jasmine

Chrysanthemum (Red 4)

Can move up to 4 spaces

Harmonious with Rose and
Rhododendron
Clashes with Lily

Rhododendron (Red 5)

Can move up to 5 spaces

Harmonious with Chrysanthemum and
Jasmine
Clashes with White Jade

White Flowers

Jasmine (White 3)

Can move up to 3 spaces

Harmonious with Rhododendron and
Lily
Clashes with Rose

Lily (White 4)

Can move up to 4 spaces

Harmonious with Jasmine and White
Jade
Clashes with Chrysanthemum

White Jade (White 5)

Can move up to 5 spaces

Harmonious with Lily and Rose
Clashes with Rhododendron

Note: See the Skud Pai Sho Overview page

for a visual of the circle of Harmony and an
overview of all the tiles.

Special Tile Properties

Each Special Tile has unique affects on the
game. See the Harmony Bonus section for
information on when Special Tiles are
played.

Accent Tiles
Accent Tiles are Special Tiles that have a
unique effect on the game.

Rock

Played on an open intersection

No tiles can form Harmony on the
entire vertical or horizontal line that the
Rock tile is on. Any Harmonies that
would be formed anywhere on these
lines are canceled and do not count.
Does not affect Disharmony in the
same way (but still disrupts Harmony
or Disharmony like any other tile if
between the two tiles). This effect lasts
as long as the Rock tile is on the board.
Cannot be moved by a Wheel tile

Wheel

Played on an open intersection

When played, a Wheel tile rotates all
tiles on the points surrounding it
(adjacent and diagonal), moving the
tiles one space in a clockwise direction
around the Wheel.
A Wheel cannot be played on a point
where it would move a Rock tile, cause
any tiles to Clash, or if it would move a
tile into an opposite-colored Garden,
off of the board, off of a Gate, or onto a
Gate.

Knotweed

Played on an open intersection

Any Blooming Flower Tiles on the
points surrounding a Knotweed tile
(adjacent and diagonal) are drained
and are unable to form Harmony. Any
Harmonies that would be formed by
tiles on the surrounding points are
canceled and do not count. Does not
affect Disharmony in the same way.
This effect lasts as long as the
Knotweed tile is on the board.

Boat

Can be played on any Blooming Flower

Tile or Accent Tile
If played on a Flower Tile, move that
Flower Tile to an empty surrounding
point (adjacent or diagonal) and place
the Boat tile in the original position of
the Flower Tile.
If played on an Accent Tile, both tiles
are considered captured and removed
from the board.
A Boat cannot be played in a way that
would cause tiles to Clash, and cannot
move a Flower Tile into an opposite-
colored Garden or onto a Gate.

Special Flower Tiles

White Lotus

Can move up to 2 spaces

Basic Flower Tiles of either player form
a Harmony with White Lotus tiles. The
Harmony belongs to the player who
owns the Basic Flower Tile.
Cannot be captured (except by an
Orchid that is able to capture Flower
Tiles).

Orchid

Can move up to 6 spaces

Opponent’s Blooming Flower Tiles on
points surrounding your Orchid
(adjacent and diagonal) are trapped
and cannot move.
If you do not have a Blooming White
Lotus tile on the board, your Orchid tile
cannot be captured (except by an
opponent’s Orchid that is able to
capture Flower Tiles).
If you have a Blooming White Lotus tile
on the board:
Your Orchid tile can be captured
by any of your opponent’s Flower
Tiles.
Your Orchid tile can capture any
of your opponent’s Flower Tiles.

Gardens and Gates

The Pai Sho board is separated into
separate areas called Gardens and Gates.
The small red areas on the four sides of the
board are the Gates. All other areas of the
board are either a Neutral Garden, Red
Garden, or White Garden.

On certain points of the board, a tile may be

in multiple areas of the board at once. A tile
is in any area the tile touches on the board
while it is on a point.

Gates
Gates are the points within the red areas on
each of the four sides of the board. There
are four Gates.

Open Gates

A Gate is open when there are no tiles on

the Gate.

Use of Gates in Play

Flower Tiles are played in an open Gate

when they are Planted.
Tiles in a Gate (Growing tiles):
Do not form Harmony or
Disharmony with other tiles
Cannot be captured
You cannot move a tile that is already
on the board onto a Gate.
Accent Tiles cannot be placed on a
Gate.

Gardens
The large red areas on the board are Red
Gardens, white areas on the board are White
Gardens, and the yellow (or non-colored)
areas are Neutral Gardens.

Use of Gardens in Play

White Flower tiles are not allowed to

end their move so that they are
completely within a Red Garden.
Red Flower tiles are not allowed to end
their move so that they are completely
within a White Garden.
Any Flower tile may move into a Neutral
Garden.
Special Flower tiles may move into any
Garden.

Winning
The game ends if a Harmony Ring is formed,
a player plays his or her last Basic Flower
Tile, or if a player forfeits.

Harmony Ring
The game ends when a player creates a
Harmony Ring, which is a chain of
Harmonies that goes around the center
point of the board. The player who achieves
the Harmony Ring is the winner.

No More Basic Flower Tiles

The game ends when a player plays his or
her last Basic Flower Tile. When this
happens, the player with more remaining
Accent Tiles wins. If players have the same
amount of Accent Tiles, then the player with
the most Harmonies wins.

Forfeit
The game can end when a player forfeits,
but that just isn’t as fun. You can never win if
you forfeit unless you agree to give your
opponent a gift that he or she deems worthy
enough for you to deserve the win.
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