Since GoldFences is probably unlike any other game you have played, you may feel lost when starting out. You can move your piece, or place two fences. Which to choose? The board may seem endless at first even though it is only 9x9. And what should you do with these weird fences?

Most games are decided by the play of the fences.

The most intuitive strategy is probably to play your fences to block your opponents forward progress. Partly because you must always leave your opponent a path to his end goal, and because fences in front of you also block you, this straegy needs some modification.

The most effective stragey at this time, is to place the fences behind you. What you are trying to do with this strategy is two fold. One is to block your opponents forward progress. Secondly and most importantly, you want to prevent your opponent from closing off the area in front and to the side of you, forcing you to back up and go around all the fences. If this happens to you, or you do it to your opponent, the game is as good as over. You want to close off the area behind you so that the only direction you can go is toward your goal. Against an uninformed opponent you can win many games just knowing this much. Try it out.

Most of my games of GoldFences seem to go this way. Each side starts with a few tentative steps toward the center, followed by a flurry of fences being played behind us. My games have us each blocking off the same side of the board so that each of us are fighting over the same path out of there. However, playing so that each piece is going along a different side of the board should be possible. Since this is a young game there is room to try out different strategies. Who knows? The strategy you come up with may soon be the new favorite!