''Ashta-kashte'' is a race

board game Board games are tabletop games that typically use . These pieces are moved or placed on a pre-marked board (playing surface) and often include elements of table, card, role-playing, and miniatures games as well. Many board games feature a comp ...

from Bengal akin to the

Cross and Circle Cross and circle is a board game design used for race games played throughout the world. Design The basic design comprises a circle divided into four equal portions by a cross inscribed inside it like four spokes in a wheel; the classic examp ...

family for two to four players originating in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. Although there is no evidence for that, it is considered by some as the direct ancestor of ''

Pachisi Pachisi (, Hindustani: əˈtʃiːsiː is a cross and circle board game that originated in Ancient India. It is described in the ancient text ''Mahabharata'' under the name of "Pasha". It is played on a board shaped like a symmetrical cross. A ...

''. It is played on a board with a 7-by-7 grid on it. It is similar to

Chowka bhara Chowka Bara or Ashta Chamma is a two- or four-player board game from India. This game is an example of a “fully observable” system that has an element of chance introduced by the roll of special dice and an element of strategy (the strategy ...

, or to Ashtam changam pe where there is a 5-by-5 grid on the board. Players race their pieces around the board, spiralling inwards to be the first to get all of their pieces to the centre. Movement is controlled by throwing

cowry Cowrie or cowry () is the common name for a group of small to large sea snails, ocean, marine Gastropoda, gastropod Mollusca, mollusks in the family Cypraeidae, the cowries. The term ''porcelain'' derives from the old Italian language, Italia ...

shells, but there is also an element of strategy to the game. Also called ''Koli kaDam'' in Hyderabad, or ''Champul'' in other parts of India.

Equipment

The board is a square divided into seven rows and columns. The outer centre squares on each side of the board are specially marked. They are the starting squares for each player, and also function as ''resting squares''. Each player has four pieces.Ashte kashte , De Tablero, juegos de mesa
Four

shells are used as

dice Dice (singular die or dice) are small, throwable objects with marked sides that can rest in multiple positions. They are used for generating random values, commonly as part of tabletop games, including dice games, board games, role-playing g ...

. They are thrown and the number of shells that lie with their openings upwards indicates the number of spaces a player should move:

Play

Players begin with no pieces on the board. A piece may enter the board on any throw of the cowries and moves to the square corresponding to the throw. Each player starts on their own starting square and moves around the board in an anticlockwise spiral. The paths of each player are different because each player starts on a different square and moves inwards at a different position on the board. A player can capture an opponent's piece by landing their piece upon it. The captured piece is removed from the board and must start again. A piece cannot land on an opponent's piece that is on a resting square. If a player lands their piece on another of their own pieces, it becomes a double. Doubles cannot be passed over by single pieces (whether the player's or the opponent's), and they can only be captured by other doubles. In addition, the two pieces that make up the double may be moved together. The end (centre square) can only be reached by a direct throw. If a player throws a number larger than that needed to reach the end, they must move another piece or wait till their next turn.

References

* ''The way to play'' by the Diagram Group (1975). {{DEFAULTSORT:Ashte Kashte Traditional board games Cross and circle games