Pachisi (Standard)
The foundational four-player form of Pachisi, played since at least 500 CE and associated with the Mughal court of Emperor Akbar, who is said to have had a life-sized Pachisi court at Fatehpur Sikri where humans served as the playing pieces.
Pachisi — cross-shaped board layout with Charkoni and castle squares
https://engine.moddable.games/play/?game=pachisi&variant=standard
Equipment
| Item | Quantity | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Board | 1 | Cross-shaped cloth board; three columns of eight squares per arm; Charkoni (3×3) in centre |
| Pieces | 16 | 4 per player; traditionally Black, Red, Green, and Yellow |
| Cowrie shells | 6 | Thrown together; value determined by mouths (openings) facing up |
Setup
Players: Four players: Black, Red, Green, Yellow (traditional turn order).
Starting position: All four pieces per player begin in the Charkoni (the large central square). One piece per player starts active; the remaining three pieces require a grace roll to enter play.
Turn order: Black moves first, then Red, Green, Yellow, clockwise.
Cowrie Shell System
Six cowrie shells are thrown together at the start of each turn. The number of shells landing with the opening (mouth) facing up determines the move value:
| Mouths up | Move value | Grace (extra throw)? |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | 25 | Yes |
| 1 | 10 | Yes |
| 2 | 2 | No |
| 3 | 3 | No |
| 4 | 4 | No |
| 5 | 5 | No |
| 6 | 6 | Yes |
Grace: On a grace throw (0, 1, or 6 mouths up), the player takes an additional throw after moving.
Board Layout
The board is cross-shaped. The Charkoni (centre 3×3 area) is the starting and finishing position for all pieces. Each of the four arms consists of three columns of eight squares, giving 24 squares per arm.
Castle squares (safe squares): Twelve squares are marked with a cross or special pattern. A piece on a castle square cannot be captured:
- The tip of the middle column in each arm (4 squares total)
- The 4th square from the tip in each outer column of each arm (8 squares total)
Four of the castle squares are positioned exactly 25 move-values from the Charkoni. A common end-game strategy is to park returning pieces on these squares and wait for a throw of 25 to finish directly. This is the origin of the game’s name.
Movement
Entering play: The first piece per player enters the board immediately (starts active). The remaining three pieces require a grace throw (0, 1, or 6 mouths up) to activate and enter.
Path: Each player’s pieces travel down the middle column of their own arm (away from the Charkoni), then counter-clockwise around the outer columns of the other three arms, and finally return up the middle column of their home arm back to the Charkoni.
Returning home: A piece re-enters the Charkoni by an exact throw only. A piece on the final square of its home arm’s middle column requires the exact remaining move value to finish; it may not overshoot.
Capture
Landing on a square (other than a castle square) occupied by an opponent’s piece or pieces captures all of the opponent’s pieces on that square. Captured pieces return to the Charkoni and may only re-enter with a grace throw.
A player who makes a capture earns an additional throw.
Optional rule: In some versions, a player may not return their pieces to the Charkoni to finish unless they have first captured at least one opponent piece.
Teams
Pachisi is commonly played in two teams: Yellow and Black form one team, Red and Green the other. The first team to return all eight of their combined pieces to the Charkoni wins.
Winning
The first player (or team) to return all four pieces to the Charkoni wins.
Attribution
Pachisi. Public domain (origin c. 500 CE, precursors to c. 1100 BCE). Sources: Wikipedia (CC-BY-SA); jkc33/senior-project, MIT licence; edm00se/awesome-board-games (public domain listing); labforadvancedstudy/books (historical context).