Pai Sho

"neutral"

- I always tried to tell you that Pai Sho is more than just a game.



Pai Sho is a two-player strategy game. The game is quite popular throughout the world of Avatar, as many people from all four nations have been seen playing it. It still remains popular even after the century long war. Pai Sho is also used by the secretive Order of the White Lotus to identify its members.

Rules
The actual rules of Pai Sho are unknown as few details about the game have been revealed.

The large, circular board is split into twelve sections divided by an 18x18 grid of colored squares. Round tiles are used as pieces; each tile has a different image. Players receive a certain number of tiles which are placed and moved around the board.

White lotus tile
The white lotus tile, like all tiles of Pai Sho, is a round black circle one and a half inch in diameter. It is identified by the image of a large white flower that takes up most of the tile. According to Iroh, many underestimate its importance.

Order of the White Lotus
In a bar at the Misty Palms Oasis, Uncle Iroh played a game with another member, Fung, as a way of identifying himself as part of the society. The key to recognition between members includes scripted dialog revolving around the opening move of placing a certain tile, the white lotus, in the center of the board, followed by the rapid placement of pieces in an exact pattern that mirrors the central piece.

Notable players



 * Iroh
 * Aang
 * Gyatso
 * Fung
 * Jinora
 * Ikki

Trivia

 * Pai Sho bears a resemblance to Go, Chinese Checkers, straight checkers, and Shogi.
 * The name of the game bears resemblance to a Tibetan game called Sho-pa. Although Sho-pa in reality is a gambling game and is not at all similar to chess or checkers.
 * The name bears even more resemblance to the Chinese tile game, Pai Gow.
 * There is a giant Pai Sho table in the Western Air Temple.