---
title: Pachisi (Standard)
slug: standard
board: Cross-shaped cloth board
players: "4"
parent: pachisi
order: 1
win: Move all four pieces from the Charkoni, around the board, and back home first
special: Cowrie shell randomisation. Grace rolls on 0, 1, or 6 mouths up.
engine:
  topology:
    type: grid
    rows: 19
    cols: 19
  players: [red, yellow, green, blue]
  setup: "home:4Y,home:4G,home:4R,home:4B"
---

## 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.

{{svg:standard-board.svg "Pachisi — cross-shaped board layout with Charkoni and castle squares"}}

### 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).