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  Congo Strategy & Tactics 

Due to a combination of factors - the facing Lions rule, the Monkey, the broad-beaked pawns and last but not least the drowning rule - tactics are an inexhaustible source of amusement that I happily leave for the reader to investigate on his own.
Strategy is rather straightforward. Initially the forces are separated by the river. This usually leads to a build-up of opposing pawns along the riverbanks, followed by a more or less dramatic exchange. Don't lose one in that stage! After the exchange there is more room for the pieces to maneuver and the goals become more concrete. A good goal is getting a covered pawn across. In the highly tactical middle game the loss of a piece or pawn may very well mean losing the game altogether.
One should always realize that in Congo, quite unlike Chess for instance, a Lion and any piece (including a pawn) will always win against a bare Lion, so maintaining the advantage of a single pawn will eventually secure the win. The fact that a given advantage can indeed be secured makes Congo, once its unusual tactics have been mastered, very much a strategy game.