Pai Sho (video game)


 * This article is about the Nick.com video game reinterpretation of the television series' board game. For the aforementioned board game, see Pai Sho.

Pai Sho is a video game hosted on Nick.com. It does not particularly resemble its namesake aside from the game board; in aspects such as gameplay and rules, there are no notable parallels.

Objective
Defeat an opponent whose talents lie not in bending, but in the ancient game of Pai Sho. Players challenge one another in the ultimate gauge of wisdom.

Controls

 * Left mouse click – Designate and move Pai Sho game pieces (additional information below)

Instructions
There are four modes of play in Pai Sho. One of these is the simplistic single-player, which is for human-versus-CPU matches, and two of these are different options of multiplayer: the first is for a one-on-one, human-versus-human game of Pai Sho played from any two computers over wireless Internet connection, and the second is the same but for it being a four-player game instead of two. One does not choose who he or she challenges in the multiplayer modes – opponents are picked by random selection over the Internet and all matches are anonymous, except in the case of playing with Nick.com signed-in users whose usernames and avatars are displayed. The remaining mode is tournament, in which a multitude of gameplay choices may be pursued after it has been unlocked. Each mode's distinctions are described separately in the following subsections due to their divergences in rules and content, but their commonalities, naturally belonging to no one mode of play, are outlined in the subsection located immediately below.

Overarching gameplay concepts


Each player begins the game with one white lotus tile, three waterbender tiles, three earthbender tiles, three firebender tiles, and three airbender tiles, all of which are arranged in an intricate and perfectly symmetrical pattern opposite one another (see image to the left). The goal for each player is to defeat his or her opponent in one of two ways: by bringing one's own white lotus tile to the center of the board, or by trapping the opponent's white lotus tile in the middle of four of one's own tiles.

Single-player
Upon clicking on the single-player option, the player is prompted to select his or her CPU opponent. As ordered on the game screen: Korra, Mako, Bolin, Asami, Tenzin, Lin, Hiroshi, Tarrlok, and Amon are the nine characters who the player may choose for the duty of opponent CPU. Selecting one of these brings up the next prompt, which asks of the player to choose a difficulty level of either easy, medium, or hard. Depending on which one the player selects, the opponent's proficiency at Pai Sho will be higher or lower compared to the player's.