Print and Play Game Exploration

We are doing a project about making our own Print and Play Games. The first step is to explore one PnP game after class. I remember I used to play a game called "Beasts Fighting Chess" when I was little.However it has been forgotten for quite a while. Below it is the chessboard of the game.

On each side of the board, there is a lair(lairs are indicated as circle shapes) and there are 3 traps surrounding each lair. Every player have 8 types of animals: elephant,wolf,leopard,rat,cat,dog,tiger and lion. At the center of the board, there are two areas, which are river areas, players cannot place their chess on those areas except the mouse chess and the dog chess.

Objective:  The winner is the one who moved his or her chess into the opponent's lair or the one who consume all the chess of the opponent.

Rules:

• Every player is assigned 8 chess to represent the 8 types of animals, players can only place the chess on the corresponding place.
• The elephant can take all other pieces, the lion all other pieces except the elephant, the tiger is the third strongest piece, i.e., wins from all pieces except lion and elephant, then come in order the jaguar/leopard, dog, wolf, cat, and mouse. There is one exception: a mouse can take an elephant. However, the elephant can also take a mouse, i.e., the moving player wins the battle between elephant and mouse. One takes a piece by moving a stronger piece (or a piece of equal strength) via a legal move to the square containing that piece. When jumping, lions and tigers can take pieces that are on the square they land on. Mice may not take elephants from outside a water square. A piece can take a piece of equal strength: when two pieces are of equal strength, then the piece that moves takes the other piece.
• Those chess indicates a more powerful animal can consume the one indicates a weaker animal, except rat consumes elephant but elephant is not able to consume rat. 
• While the rat chess is placed in the river, no chess can consume it, the rat cannot consume the elephant(on the shore)neither
• If a player placed one chess on his or her opponent's trap, any chess from his or her opponent can consume the trapped chess.After one round, the trapped chess is able to move.
• Players are not allowed to place chess on his or her lair.
• One chess can only be moved vertically or horizontally one step.
• Lion and tiger can jump across river and consume a weaker animal on the opposite side of the river. A rat in the river can stop lion and tiger from jumping across.

Experience: 

At first,although I am quite clear about the rule,I have no idea which chess I should move first.I realized moving your chess without any strategy at first may cause you lose the game later. After a few rounds, I found that one of your animal moves to your opponent's side could easily be consumed unless you manage to move more animals across the river. It is good to place a weak animal chess on the trap and having strong animals watching its back.