Pachisi, a traditional Indian four-player game can be traced to the 4th Century AD.

It was the royal game played by the Maharajas, the nobility and the common men in leisure. The Mughal Emperor Akbar played the variant of Pachisi; Chaupar on a huge inlaid marble court employing slaves from the harem as his pawns/pieces.

The Pachisi board, as with many Indian games, is made of cloth in a patchwork design. The four arms/limbs of the board are conjoined at the center called ‘Char Koni’. Each arm has three marked squares of one colour called ‘castles’ to distinguish them from the other squares. The game set comes with a set of beehive shaped wooden pawns in colors of yellow, black, red, and green.

The players throw cowrie shells on the Char Koni and the move of the pawns are determined by the number of shells that fall with the open face. The objective of the game is to get all the four pawns allocated to each player from a set of 12 to complete the round of the board as fast as possible.

Today, variants of Pachisi like Ludo and American Parcheesi have become immensely popular. But if you want to savour the real mind game that once was the favorite past time of the Indian royalty then Pachisi is the best option to relax and of course sharpen your wits.

Large playing mat. The arms measure 116cm by 19cm wide. Enough room for everyone to gather around!

2-4 Players ages 10 to adult.

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Download game rules for Free: Pachisi