Using switchpoints

It's a simple concept, but probably the biggest strategic headscratcher that new players encounter is how to effectively use switchpoints.

To recap from the app's tutorial, switchpoints are the two marked center-points. Move the appropriate matching piece to activate a switch and then here's the dilemma... which one of your four pieces to choose?

Whichever location you tap, any piece there "switches" to the opposite type of piece, but remains the same color. If it's your piece, it always remains your piece, but switching is the most immediately powerful change you can make to the playing board; see illustration.

Some accomplished gamers I've challenged to Pirate Ring have had trouble "seeing through" to the full resulting flip of this move. It doesn't seem to be a skillset that always carries over from other games, so people sometimes have to get used to the concept of using switchpoints well.

So, here's three tips--

#1. Make rings. Easy, right? Unless you anticipate being immediately defended (by a coin--in the app). Sometimes it's worth it to wait for the right moment to switch.  With some care, you can avoid some needless ring/coin standoffs.

#2. Foil your opponent from going to the Dreadnay. He really wants to, but if you switch a shared location then he can't move to the center without opening your ring for additional ships that you would earn.

#3. If you're on a 3 and you're sharing the spot with your opponent, don't be impatient about moving your ring away. That can allow an opponent to switch his piece there (to a ring scoring 3 ships) and then your ring can't even move back to cover the loss.