A Standard Match is played up to 3 points (i.e. the first player to score 3 points is the winner). The match starts by playing an 'Initial Round', exactly as described above for Single Round play.

After the end of this first round (and subsequent rounds), two important things will happen:

A 'Sumo' is Born!

The player who won the first (or previous) round places an octagonal 'Sumo ring' on the dragon tower that went through to a square on the opponent's 'home row'.

The largest size of Sumo ring is used, and this should drop down to settle at around the middle of the tower. This tower is now known as a 'Sumo' dragon tower. It is restricted in terms of the number of spaces it can move, but it has special powers that allow it to make a move called a 'Sumo Push'.

Both these aspects of Sumo towers are discussed in the sections below. Note: If the first (or previous) round ended in a 'deadlock' situation, then the player who did not cause the deadlock places an octagonal 'Sumo ring' on the tower that matches the color of the square that his/her opponent last moved to.

The Dragon Towers Regroup!

The towers are returned to each player's home row, ready for the next round. The order in which the towers are lined up for this new round is determined by the player who won the first (or previous) round, who can now choose to "fill from the left" or "fill from the right".

This is described in detail below. After this player has filled from the left or right, then his/her opponent must fill in the same direction.

The methods by which the dragon towers are rearranged at the beginning of each new round are governed by the rules set out below. This page can be used as a quick reference for all the rules which apply in a Standard Match (over and above those already used in the basic game).

Filling your home row

Rules governing filling from left or right:

• Rule F1: The player who won the previous round (the Defender in the new round) chooses whether to fill from the left or from the right.

• Rule F2: The player who lost the previous round (the Challenger in this new round) is then obliged to fill in the same direction as the Defender.

  Rule F3: If the Defender chooses to fill from the left, each player (Defender first, followed by Challenger) selects one tower at a time in an order determined by the row each tower is in and the position of each tower within each row, and places each in turn on the squares within his/her home row, starting with the brown square on the left-hand side, and working across to the orange square on the right-hand side.

• Rule F4: If the Defender chooses to fill from the right, each player (Defender first, followed by Challenger) selects one tower at a time in an order determined by the row each tower is in and the position of each tower within each row, and places each in turn on the squares within his/her home row, starting with the orange square on the right-hand side, and working across to the brown square on the left-hand side.

Sumo powers and restrictions

Rules applying to Sumo dragon towers :

• Rule S1: A Sumo tower is stronger, but slower than a normal dragon tower. It may be moved up to a maximum of 5 spaces in a straight line, either directly forwards or diagonally forwards.

  This restriction on movement can sometimes be critical, especially if it prevents the Sumo tower from reaching the opponent's home row, in situations where it starts its move six or seven spaces from the opponent's home row.

• Rule S2: Because a Sumo tower is stronger than a normal tower, it may perform a move called a 'Sumo push' on an opponent's normal tower.

  For this to happen, the opponent's normal dragon tower must, at the beginning of the player's turn, be on the square immediately in front of the Sumo tower, and the opponent must have ended his/her previous move on a square whose color matches the color of the Sumo tower.

  When this happens, the player has the option of using a Sumo push on the opponent's tower. This means that the Sumo tower will move one space forwards, pushing the opponent's tower one square backwards as it goes.

• Rule S3: Immediately after the Sumo push, the opponent misses his/her turn, and the original player (i.e. the one who made the Sumo push) moves again straight away, using the dragon tower whose color matches the square that the opponent's tower was pushed onto.

• Rule S4: A Sumo push cannot be made diagonally. The pushed piece must be on the square immediately in front of the Sumo, at the beginning of the turn when the push occurs.

• Rule S5: There must be an empty square 'behind' the pushed piece for this piece to be pushed into. The color of this square determines what color tower the player moves next, after his/her opponent has forfeited their next turn.

• Rule S6: A Sumo cannot push a piece if that piece is on its own home row (i.e. it cannot push a piece 'off the board').

• Rule S7: A Sumo cannot push more than one piece backwards at the same time.

• Rule S8: A Sumo cannot push another Sumo

• Rule S9: A player can only perform Sumo pushes on his/her opponent's pieces, not his/her own.

• Rule S10: A Sumo push is an option that the player is not obliged to use, if there are alternative diagonally forward moves that bypass the piece which could be pushed.

• Rule S11: However, if the Sumo push is the only move available with the tower concerned, then the player is forced to make the Sumo push (i.e. the player is not allowed to 'pass' on his/her move and do nothing if a Sumo push is an available option).

  If this happens, the player must play the Sumo push move, and is not allowed to do nothing on that turn.

Filling from the Left or Right

For the second and subsequent rounds of any match, the towers do not start the round 'on their own color'. They can be set up in one of two ways, determined by the player who won the previous round.

This player will be the Defender in the new round and can choose to either:

• Fill from the left (if he/she fills from the left then his/her opponent must also fill from the left)
• Fill from the right (if he/she fills from the right then his/her opponent must also fill from the right)

Choice of filling from the left or right gives the Defender two set-up options. This helps him/her to avoid weak positions that the Challenger can attack easily. As you play more Kamisado , you will learn what these positions are.

You will attempt to avoid creating them when you are the Defender and try to identify and attack them when you are the Challenger.

When and How to Perform a 'Sumo Push'

Please refer to the section entitled 'Sumo powers and restrictions!' when looking at the 'Sumo Push' examples provided below. Remember that the tower to be pushed by the Sumo tower must be directly in front of the Sumo tower (Rule S2), NOT diagonally in front (Rule S4).

There must be an empty square 'behind' the pushed tower, for this tower to be pushed into (Rule S5). The tower to be pushed must not be on its own home row (Rule S6) The tower to be pushed must be an 'ordinary' dragon tower and NOT a Sumo (Rule S8).

The tower to be pushed must be one of the opponent's towers (Rule S9).

Scoring System for a Standard Match

A Standard Match is played up to 3 points (i.e. the first player to score 3 points is the winner). Each time a round is won by either player, a Sumo ring is placed on the tower that reached the opponent's home row.

The first ring to be placed on a tower, marking that tower as a Sumo tower, is worth one point to its owner. However, the second ring to be placed on a tower, marking it as a 'Double Sumo' tower, is worth two points.

So if you reach your opponent's home row with a Sumo tower, it becomes a Double Sumo, worth a total of three points (one point for the first ring plus two points for the second ring).

So the winner of a Standard Match will be either:

• The first player to obtain three separate Sumo dragon towers

• The first player to obtain a Double Sumo dragon tower, as a result of placing a Sumo tower on his/her opponent's home row.

Note: Please note that the Sumo rings provide a very simple and visible scoring system for the game. When you look at any game in progress, you can easily calculate the score by counting the number of Sumo towers each player has.

Please also note that while it is possible to create a Double Sumo tower in a Standard Match, that match will be finished as soon as the second ring is added to the tower.

So Double Sumos never get to play an active part in Standard Matches, although they can play an important role in Long Matches and Marathon Matches.

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