Pai Sho
NOTE: The wiki rules have changed (as of May 22nd, 2011 to clarify the copyright issues of the content here, (i.e. it's released to CC, and no one can "own" it, or profit from it)
This page is devoted to the decoding of the ancient wisdoms of the game of Pai Sho, as seen in the world of Avatar: the last air bender. Please feel free to share any ideas or comments for this game. I've laid down some basic ideas, but nothing's really written in stone. The password is "AangAvatar". You don't need anyone's permission to edit, if you have an idea, go right ahead!
(The front page has been cleaned up some; no worries though, any information it contained has simply been rejiggered to one of the pages linked here. The Wiki Pai Sho page will be almost a photocopy of the old FrontPage, but I wanted to open some room for more Variant formats.)
The content of this site is released under creative commons non commercial share alike licence. Please visit
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/us for more information. Avatar: the last airbender and the basic concept of Pai sho is (C)2008 Nickelodeon.
Please do not copy information from this page without giving proper citations!
What is Pai Sho?
Pai Sho is an ancient game that stretches in popularity among many nations. It is unknown where Pai Sho first originated, as all of the four nations claim that it originated in their respective countries, naming specific villages and historical persons as originators or major reformers to what eventually became known as Pai Sho. The first mention of Pai Sho in writing is around -850 in a fire nation historical book. Over the next 1,000 years more writings appeared in a greater quantity throughout the four nations.
Pai Sho was played in air temples, and is played in the earth king's palace, the water tribe villages and fire nation cities and on the fire nation war barges. Pai Sho is somewhat inspired by oriental flower arranging (Ikebana). The game is commonly played with two players, though a larger number could play.
Archaeologists discovered Pai Sho boards, pieces and diagrams in an ancient air temple and have pieced together a "lost" variation of Pai Sho dubbed Tei Setsu Pai Sho (Air Temple Pai Sho). The game was played in the squares, but it is unknown whether this is the original game, or a variant brought from one of the other nations, click
Tei Setsu Pai Sho for more details.
Playing Materials
The game is played on a circular board with an 18x18 square grid with the corners cut off. In the center is a diamond shape divided in to four quarters with white and red at opposite corners. A Pai Sho board has 256 spaces on it.
Seating- Two players sit across from one another. The drawn tip closest to you is called “the Home Port”. The tip closest to your opponent is called “the Foreign Port”. The other two tips are call “East” and “West” Ports. The “Sides” are divided by the line in the center.
Few tiles are known with certainty; those that are include the White Lotus, the Wheel, and others shown here. Thus, different variant creations utilise different tile sets. For more on these Variants, see Variations.
Harmony
Harmony plays an important part in many variations of the game; from accumulating points, to removing pieces, rules for Harmony fulfill many roles. While specific combinations for Harmonies vary, some similarities exist:
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Most often, Harmonies occur between two pieces, though occasionally those pieces can form a chain with other Harmonious pieces.
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Generally, Harmonies have a value, differentiating valuable or difficult Harmonies from less valuable or simpler ones.
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When Harmonies are present, the White Lotus tile generally produces them easily or increases their value.
The Pot
In games that utilise capturing, all captured pieces are put into a pile on the side of the board, which is called "The Pot". It can be worth a certain number of points; these points are often awarded to one player or another after the game, to keep it interesting. In addition, The Pot is often used to facilitate gambling, applying a monetary amount to total point value therein.
See Also:
Comments (Show all 185)
Cyril said
at 1:05 pm on Mar 21, 2011
Great! I don't have Google Chrome, but at least there is somebody actually working on an online version; I really appreciate it. It does great help on promoting Pai Sho (and so on). Greetings, Cyril
Cyril said
at 1:11 pm on Mar 21, 2011
Ah, I forgot: I have pictures for tiles on dark AND white for easier recognition which tile is who's. If you want, i can send them to you.
James said
at 2:49 pm on Mar 21, 2011
Yea, the would be good. I would prefer dark and white. And four colors.
Since some versions of pai sho are more then two player, I want to build a site that can support that.
Cyril said
at 8:59 am on Mar 22, 2011
I sent you the dark and white tiles. I also thoght to make four colours, so if I do, I'll send them too.
James said
at 11:38 am on Mar 22, 2011
where? I don't have them.
Cyril said
at 12:07 pm on Mar 22, 2011
@ James: Interesting. I sent them again, maybe it works now.
Arnold13 said
at 6:18 am on Jun 8, 2011
just love this game.... actually i'm trying to make this game popular among my friends,cuz i'd love to play it... but is there any site where i can play this game ?
James said
at 11:03 am on Jun 8, 2011
I made this a long time ago, this is a quick setup for people to play on. http://jq.dyndns-free.com/paisho/
Arnold13 said
at 12:44 pm on Jun 8, 2011
coool James... i just created a Pai Sho fan page in FB.: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Pai-Sho/167127606685100 join here please, to create a Pai Sho community in FB, and to make it a popular game :)
frank hribal said
at 10:50 am on Sep 2, 2011
i tried it out. not a bad start. i don't know if anyone knows, but i have pics and rules, and some thoughts about the tiles and rank in the order in the folder "franks stuff"
Cyril said
at 11:48 am on Sep 3, 2011
Hm, what I thinks is that the Pai Sho community is in desperate need of a rule set that is simple, but keeping the game's complexity, and at the same time presented in a way that is easily accessible and clearly understandable even for people who didn't watch the series. I'm trying to accomplish something like this right now by upoading a ýoutube video in which i explain my rule set (like you did in a very nice way^^). I think that, next to the facebook page we have now, Pai Sho should have more presence on youtube and such. If you search "Pai Sho" in google, you get three or so sites that present rule sets on text form (which we shouldn't do, in my opinion) and that is not very comfortable for paisho-newbies.
frank hribal said
at 1:02 pm on Sep 3, 2011
i am trying to find someone to make a video with here so i can put up tile movement and strategy. i've had quite a few people ask me. i totally agree.
frank hribal said
at 1:06 pm on Sep 3, 2011
hey cyril, i started a game with arnold13 on facebook, but we never finished. you should try starting a game with him.
Cyril said
at 1:58 pm on Sep 3, 2011
That's interesting. Do you have a game record?
I'll send him a mail to ask, because i don't have a facebook anyway.
frank hribal said
at 2:58 pm on Sep 17, 2011
yes i do have one but it's not very long. it's not typed up yet. just finished the powerpoint, i'll send it to you now.
Sloan said
at 11:17 pm on Dec 15, 2011
Guys, I'm impressed with the work you guys have put into manifesting this game. Just have a couple of concerns that I've a feeling might be able cleared up relatively easily...
First and foremost, after doing a little bit of anthropological digging around, I've come up with a couple of conclusions surrounding the shot we're provided of the Pai Sho board in The Desert (Season 2, Episode 11). If you take a look at the snippet I took of the board, you'll notice that there is a pai sho piece oddly arranged in the top right pedal.
<img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7023/6519404871_2b41dfc90e_m.jpg">
Now, I know that this isn't CSI or anything, I just feel it's extremely to maintain a concrete sense of authenticity while developing this game. Because of the peculiar placement of this piece, I'm lead to believe that both White Lotus members laid down their full hands in order to replicate the insignia of the white lotus. There are 58 pieces on the board, so I suspect that each player is in possession of a stack of 29 pai sho pieces each. What do you think?
Osuji said
at 6:27 am on Dec 16, 2011
I've been away for a while chasing other projects so I hope my understanding is still current. Yes there is an asymmetry to the pattern shown in the desert. If you read elsewhere on this site you will find many who feel the position is likely part of a ritual that members of the secret society use to identify each other. As such it may not be a standard opening. There are loads of possibilities. Perhaps the odd piece is part of the code and means something different depending on where it is put? Perhaps it's artist error. Perhaps it is part of a ritual to determine how the game will be played or who will have the first move. All we can say with certainty is Iroh uses this to identify himself as a member of the order and perhaps to give his rank. And we can say there are at least 58 tiles. Beyond that is mostly speculation. It could be as you suggest that each player has half that number, or they could be drawing from a common pool of more than that number. Even if we knew for sure it was one or the other there could be variations that do it differently.
Sloan said
at 11:21 pm on Dec 15, 2011
Shoot, you can't embed html into this thread. Here is the link for the snippet I mentioned above:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/60419909@N08/6519404871/in/photostream
Also, I feel that the white lotus gambit needs to be revamped to more closely resemble the gambit we know from the show:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/60419909@N08/6519404995/in/photostream
Cyril said
at 7:05 am on Dec 16, 2011
I see that there is an asymmetry; I never noticed it before, but what Osuji says looks good to me. For the other thing, am I wrong or is your white lotus from the second image a jasmin tile rather than a lotus? I guess I don't really understand what you mean...?
I for one think that a rule set that totally resembles the game in the show is nearly impossible. As one may know, I and some others are creating a rule set at another page, and we decided not to cling to the show that closely because most rules that may be good just don't fit in with what is provided by the show.
Anyway, if you think the Lotus gambit theory here needs to be revised, I'd like to hear your version.
Osuji said
at 7:36 am on Jan 2, 2012
No later than I am James. Hopefully you still check this stuff. I tested your site on Chrome. Looks great! But I have some questions and requests
First Graphics Questions:
What is memory size limit for a tile image?
What are the desired dimentions in pixels for a tile image?
What file format do you want to use for the tile images?
Do you need a transparent background on the tiles?
What dimentions in pixels do you want for the board?
How much memory can the board image take up?
Second Requests
1. Make the tiles playable on intersections. Most of the game variants on this site are played on intersections. Right now most play testing can't be done on your site. I think that is a shame given your results.
2. Add a notational scale to the board so the exact position of a tile on the board can be determined
3. have the location of a tile shown as you move it. (more of a stretch goal for you really)
Yi Chen said
at 6:13 pm on Mar 14, 2012
Avatar: The Legend of Korra due to be released on Nickelodeon on April 14, 2012
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiyqfthq19g
I wonder if Pai Sho will feature in the new show.
Osuji said
at 6:48 pm on Mar 14, 2012
As excited as I would be to see more Pai Sho information I also dread it. I've been aware that this was coming since the end of the last series (or at least as of the posting of the rumor on one of the fan sites). And it has been a worry ever since. My basic fear is they will add some here to fore unknown details into the "cannon" that will need to be assimilated and which have no guarantee of being playable or compatible with what we have been developing. It is a potential complication I've been contemplating with considerable unease. Lets hope they didn't just lift PSP wholesale and dump it into a story board somewhere. That would be almost as bad.
The White Lotus said
at 5:03 pm on Mar 24, 2012
Hey, I'm new around here, and I really like pai sho, and I program, so... I'm making a Pai Sho program!! I am also making a web version of it. (but I really don't want to pay to make a website.)
James said
at 11:47 am on Mar 26, 2012
You are free to host it on my server for free as long as it is open source.
Osuji said
at 4:38 am on Mar 26, 2012
The short term goal would be to create a tool to help develop Pai Sho variants and easily share those concepts with others, as well as have a painless way to create game records of test games. The complexities of bending movement, and the subtleties of movement restrictions can come later. Even scoring points for harmony is less important than having a useful tool for everyone to share. There should be various free website options you could use to host your web app. Google for one, offers free web space if you have a Gmail account. I'm guessing you may have already explored some of those options only to discover their scripting options are limited or high volume sites must be converted to paid sites or some other limitations?
BTW the lotus gambit site can be found here http://lotusgambit.pbworks.com
Osuji said
at 4:23 am on Mar 26, 2012
Requirements:
1. Use the 1.0 diagram design from the Lotus Gambit site for the board. (Rework the images to the scale you need but keep the current design elements and placement)
2. Allow users to import their own tiles
3. Set a Standard Tile Size in Pixels or DPI that you want to use and publish it so others can publish and use their own tile designs.
4. Allow users to select multiple tiles to be moved at a time
5. Don't enforce any movement rules (at this time) since these may vary from one set of tiles to another
6. Do enforce that all tiles must be played on intersections and force the center of a tile to snap to the center of an intersection
7. Keep a game record using the notation system described on the Lotus Gambit site. (nothing special just the tile abbreviation and the coordinates)
8. Define the tile abbreviation using the imported tile names. And publish those details so users my tweak their tile names to work with your notation system
9. Display remaining tiles of the same type and color in a stack with an index. so if I have 5 Jade tiles left display one Jade tile to the side with the number 5 subscripted next to it.
10. Allow users to define how many of each tile is available
11. Allow users to save or print the game record
12. Allow users to save or print a game diagram
13. Allow users to define harmony relationships between tiles
14. Have defaults for all user customizable settings so novice players don't need to do a lot of customization to start.
Some of these will be harder than others. And this list is far from complete (much like some of the Pai Sho rules). The reality is you may end up writing multiple versions of Pai Sho. I do QA for a living and will be happy to test for you. I hope the above list isn't too long. Let me suggest you join the Lotus Gambit site too. You will find many interesting discussions there to guide you in your effort. I'm sure we could add a software development section to aid your process.
James said
at 11:50 am on Mar 26, 2012
These are good requirements, if I start working on a *real* web version. I will be sure to use these.
frank hribal said
at 9:20 pm on Mar 26, 2012
I have been researching programming to try to make one too. I know nothing about programming or programming language, so I have to start from the beginning. I did get advice to start with python 2.7.2. One of my friends is kinda good at programming so he may be able to help.
Osuji said
at 6:06 pm on Mar 24, 2012
I'd love to suggest some requirements for your game that would be useful for all those developing variations on Pai Sho. Unfortunately I'm pressed for time at the moment. I will get back to you on this within the week.
The White Lotus said
at 6:15 pm on Mar 24, 2012
Okay!! Thanks for any advice, useful or not.
kquizz said
at 5:08 pm on Mar 24, 2012
I would love to help you program/design it. I let me know if I can help
The White Lotus said
at 5:26 pm on Mar 24, 2012
One question I do have is what is the layout of the tiles at the beginning of the game?
frank hribal said
at 6:35 pm on Mar 24, 2012
There shouldn't be any tiles on the board. They could be off to the side and you click the tile to add it
The White Lotus said
at 5:25 pm on Mar 24, 2012
Well... I'm almost done with it, and I'm using Game Maker HTML5. Also, some rules that are hard to make don't apply.
Yi Chen said
at 2:34 am on Mar 25, 2012
Which rules set are you using?
Cyril said
at 1:59 am on Mar 25, 2012
I am eager to see this program. We had the idea of making a Pai Sho web client before, but so far nobody did one. Make sure you take a look at the things Osuji will suggest.
Yi Chen said
at 2:32 am on Mar 25, 2012
There was a link to a website somewhere on here where you could place tiles on a Pai Sho board.
Osuji said
at 3:42 am on Mar 26, 2012
This is the link to James' web version http://jq.dyndns-free.com/paisho/
Cyril said
at 6:22 am on Mar 25, 2012
Yes, it was made by James.
frank hribal said
at 11:38 am on Mar 26, 2012
Has anyone noticed that on korranation.com, there is a sentence at the bottom of the page that says: " thanks to the fans that played pai sho"? I don't know if they actually played it. If they did I wonder if they came up with a ruleset?
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