Pachisi (,
Hindustani
Hindustani may refer to:
* something of, from, or related to Hindustan (another name of India)
* Hindustani language, an Indo-Aryan language, whose two official norms are Hindi and Urdu
* Fiji Hindi, a variety of Eastern Hindi spoken in Fiji, and ...
:
əˈtʃiËsiË is a
cross and circle 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 ...
that originated in
Ancient India
According to consensus in modern genetics, anatomically modern humans first arrived on the Indian subcontinent from Africa between 73,000 and 55,000 years ago. Quote: "Y-Chromosome and Mt-DNA data support the colonization of South Asia by ...
. It is described in the ancient text ''
Mahabharata
The ''MahÄbhÄrata'' ( ; sa, महाà¤à¤¾à¤°à¤¤à¤®à¥, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the '' RÄmÄyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the K ...
'' under the name of "Pasha". It is played on a board shaped like a symmetrical cross. A player's pieces move around the board based upon a throw of six or seven
cowrie
Cowrie or cowry () is the common name for a group of small to large sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Cypraeidae, the cowries.
The term ''porcelain'' derives from the old Italian term for the cowrie shell (''porcellana' ...
shells, with the number of shells resting with the aperture upward indicating the number of spaces to move.
The name of the game is derived from the
Hindi
Hindi (DevanÄgarÄ«: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of North India, northern, Central India, centr ...
word ''paccīs'', meaning "twenty-five", the largest score that can be thrown with the cowrie shells; thus this game is also known by the name ''Twenty-Five''. There are other versions of this game where the largest score that can be thrown is thirty.
In addition to
chaupar,
there are many versions of the game. (barsis) is popular in the
Levant
The Levant () is an approximation, approximate historical geography, historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology an ...
, mainly
Syria, while
ParchÃs is another version popular in Spain and northern
Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria ...
.
Parqués is its
Colombian variant.
Parcheesi,
Sorry!, and
Ludo
Ludo (; ) is a strategy board game for two to four players, in which the players race their four from start to finish according to the rolls of a single die. Like other cross and circle games, Ludo is derived from the Indian game Pachisi. The ...
are among the many
Westernised
Westernization (or Westernisation), also Europeanisation or occidentalization (from the ''Occident''), is a process whereby societies come under or adopt Western culture in areas such as industry, technology, science, education, politics, economi ...
commercial versions of the game. The
Jeu des petits chevaux (Game of Little Horses) is played in France, and
Mensch ärgere Dich nicht
Mensch ärgere Dich nicht (English: ''Man, Don't Get Angry'') is a German board game (but not a German-style board game), developed by Josef Friedrich Schmidt in 1907/1908. Some 70 million copies have been sold since its introduction in 1914 and ...
is a popular German variant. It is also possible that this game led to the development of the Korean board game
Yunnori
Yut Nori, also known as Yunnori, Nyout, and Yoot, is a traditional board game played in Korea, especially during Korean New Year. The game is also called ''cheok-sa'' or ''sa-hee''. The combining-form ''-nori'' means 'game'.
Although the origins ...
, through the ancient kingdom
Baekje
Baekje or Paekche (, ) was a Korean kingdom located in southwestern Korea from 18 BC to 660 AD. It was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, together with Goguryeo and Silla.
Baekje was founded by Onjo of Baekje, Onjo, the third son of Gogurye ...
.
History
Gamesmen similar to chaupar with different colour schemes along with dice have been identified from the Iron Age during the
Painted Grey Ware period from sites in Mathura and Noh (1100-800 BC.) Cruciform boards have been depicted from art reliefs of
Chandraketugarh
Chandraketugarh is a 2,500 years old archaeological site located near the Bidyadhari river, about north-east of Kolkata, India, in the district of North 24 parganas, near the township of Berachampa and the Harua Road railhead. Once it was a ...
dated to 2nd century BC-1st century BC. A 6th- or 7th-century representation of
Shiva
Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Åšiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ÉɦaËd̪eËÊ‹É, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hin ...
and
Parvati
Parvati ( sa, पारà¥à¤µà¤¤à¥€, ), Uma ( sa, उमा, ) or Gauri ( sa, गौरी, ) is the Hindu goddess of power, energy, nourishment, harmony, love, beauty, devotion, and motherhood. She is a physical representation of Mahadevi ...
said to be playing
Chaupar (a closely related game) in fact depicts only dice and not the distinctive board.
[Parlett 1999, p 43.] In a similar period, a board identical to pachisi was discovered in the
Ellora
Ellora is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in the Aurangabad district of Maharashtra, India. It is one of the largest rock-cut Hindu temple cave complexes in the world, with artwork dating from the period 600–1000 CE., Quote: "These 34 ...
cave system. A
Song Dynasty
The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the res ...
(960–1279) document referencing the Chinese game ''ch'u-p'u''
樗蒲 (Wade–Giles,
pinyin
Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese fo ...
chūpú),
"invented in western India and spread to China in the time of the
Wei dynasty (AD 220–265)" may relate to Chaupar, but the actual nature of the Chinese game (which may be more closely related to
backgammon
Backgammon is a two-player board game played with counters and dice on tables boards. It is the most widespread Western member of the large family of tables games, whose ancestors date back nearly 5,000 years to the regions of Mesopotamia an ...
) is uncertain. Speculation that Pachisi derived from the earlier game of
Ashtapada is plausible but unsubstantiated.
Louis Rousselet wrote:
The game of Pachisi was played by Akbar
Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar (25 October 1542 – 27 October 1605), popularly known as Akbar the Great ( fa, ), and also as Akbar I (), was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, H ...
in a truly regal manner. The Court itself, divided into red and white squares, being the board, and an enormous stone raised on four feet, representing the central point. It was here that Akbar and his courtiers played this game; sixteen young slaves from the harem wearing the players' colours, represented the pieces, and moved to the squares according to the throw of the dice. It is said that the Emperor took such a fancy to playing the game on this grand scale that he had a court for pachisi constructed in all his palaces, and traces of such are still visible at Agra
Agra (, ) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about south-east of the national capital New Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra is ...
and Allahabad
Allahabad (), officially known as Prayagraj, also known as Ilahabad, is a metropolis in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.The other five cities were: Agra, Kanpur (Cawnpore), Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi (Benares). It is the admin ...
.
Irving Finkel adds:
To date, these grandiose boards still represent the earliest secure evidence for the existence of the game in India. The game's role in the history of India still remains to be investigated. It is often assumed that the gambling game that plays so significant a role in the ''Mahabharata
The ''MahÄbhÄrata'' ( ; sa, महाà¤à¤¾à¤°à¤¤à¤®à¥, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the '' RÄmÄyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the K ...
'', the classical literary epic, is ''pachisi'', but the descriptions, such as they are, do not tie in with the game, and this conclusion is perhaps erroneous.
In 1938, the American toy and game company
Transogram introduced a mass market
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 ...
version called Game of India,
later marketed as Pa-Chiz-Si: The Game of India.
Players
Pachisi is a game for two, three, or four players,
[Mohr 1997, p. 68.] four usually play in two teams. One team has yellow and black pieces, the other team has red and green. The team which moves all its pieces to the finish first wins the game.
Traditional equipment
Each player has four
beehive
A beehive is an enclosed structure in which some honey bee species of the subgenus ''Apis'' live and raise their young. Though the word ''beehive'' is commonly used to describe the nest of any bee colony, scientific and professional literature ...
-shaped pieces (this can be increased to up to 16 pieces on each side in some versions). The pieces of one player are distinguishable from another by their colours: black, green, red, and yellow.
Six
cowrie shells are used to determine the amount to move the players' pieces. The shells are thrown from the player's hand and the number of cowries which fall with their openings upwards indicate how many spaces the player may move:
In some versions, seven
cowrie shells are used:
The board is usually
embroidered
Embroidery is the craft of decorating fabric or other materials using a needle to apply thread or yarn. Embroidery may also incorporate other materials such as pearls, beads, quills, and sequins. In modern days, embroidery is usually seen on ...
on cloth. The playing area is
cruciform
Cruciform is a term for physical manifestations resembling a common cross or Christian cross. The label can be extended to architectural shapes, biology, art, and design.
Cruciform architectural plan
Christian churches are commonly described ...
. There is a large square in the centre, called the Charkoni, which is the starting and finishing position of the pieces. The four arms are divided into three columns of eight squares. The players' pieces are moved along these columns during play.
Twelve squares are specially marked as castle squares. Four of these are positioned at the end of the middle columns of each arm; the other eight are four squares inwards from the end of the outer columns on each arm. A piece may not be captured by an opponent while it lies on a castle square.
Gameplay
Each player's objective is to move all four of their pieces completely around the board, counter-clockwise, before their opponents do. The pieces start and finish on the Charkoni.
The playing order is decided by each player throwing the cowries. The player with the highest score starts, and turns continue counter-clockwise around the board. In some versions, each player throws the cowrie shells and pieces cannot move until a 2, 3, or 4 is thrown.
If a 6, 10, or 25 is thrown, the player gets a ''grace'', which enables the player to introduce one of their pieces from the Charkoni onto the board. The player then repeats his or her turn. In other versions, this includes 10, 25, or 35 to introduce another of their pieces. The newly introduced pawn will be landed on square number 1, which is the very first square for every respective player: here, it is said that on throwing 10 or 25, or 35, you will introduce your new pawn at square number 1, and then you will add the second throw numbers that will be appeared on your cowries and 7, 14 as a ''grace'' without the introduction of pieces (here, it should be clear to players that on throwing 7 or 14, you can not introduce your new pawn, you only get an extra turn). A player needs to have at least one piece on the board to be able to throw a 7 or 14.
Simply put, on throwing 10 or 25, or 35, you can not introduce your new pawn directly to 10 or 25, or 35 number square directly, you have to land the new pawn on square number 1 and then add your remaining numbers. Once your all pawns have entered the game, throwing 10 or 25, or 35 allows you to move the respective numbers ahead.
Each player's first piece may leave the Charkoni on any throw after it has been introduced onto the board. Each player moves their pieces down the centre column of their own arm of the board, then counter-clockwise around the outside columns.
A player may have any number of pieces on the board at one time. Only one piece may be moved with a single throw, or if the player chooses, they can decline to move any piece on a throw. In some versions, a player can move any number of their pieces with a single throw. Also, if the player casts a value higher than they are eligible to move in a single throw, then the player automatically loses that turn.
More than one piece of the same team may occupy a single square (not true for all squares in some versions). However, a piece may not move onto a castle square that is already occupied by an opponent's piece.
If a piece lands on a square (other than a castle square) occupied by any number of the opponent's pieces, those pieces are ''captured'/''killed'' and must return to the Charkoni. Captured pieces may only enter the game again with a grace throw. A player making a capture is allowed another turn (not true in some versions).
In some versions, a player cannot take their pieces back to the Charkoni/home, unless they have ''captured'/''killed'' at least one of the opponent's pieces. Some versions have a rule where if, for example, two players are playing against each other, and Player 1 captures a piece of Player 2, then Player 2, in their immediate turn after being captured for the first time, captures the same piece Player 1 just used to capture, in the same square where the capture took place, then Player 1's ''capture''/''kill'' is invalidated. Player 1 will need to recapture Player 2's piece again to be able to go back to the Charkoni, but Player 2 is free to go ahead to their respective Charkoni unless the above repeats.
A piece completes its trip around the board by moving back up its central column. Returning pieces may be placed on their side in order to distinguish them from pieces that have just entered. A piece can only return to the Charkoni by a direct throw.
Four of the castle squares are placed so they are exactly 25 moves from the Charkoni. A common strategy is for returning pieces to stay on these squares, where they are safe from capture until a 25 is thrown. The pieces can then finish the game directly. This is where the name of the game comes from.
In some versions, where more emphasis is put on the throwing of the cowries, experienced players can cause cowries to land in a specific way, so there are certain other rules to make the game more exciting.
# If a player has their pieces closer to the end, and does not need a higher value throw, there are ways to nullify the higher value throw.
## If the player casts a 10, 25, or 30, the player needs to consecutively throw either 10, 25, or 30 three times (including the original throw) to nullify the higher value throw.
## If the player casts a 7, the player must consecutively cast a 7 only 3 times (including the original throw) to nullify the throw.
## If the player casts a 14, the player must consecutively cast a 14 only 3 times (including the original throw) to nullify the throw.
# Since throwing three consecutive throws of 10, 25, or 30 in a single turn nullifies them, players can instead throw a 7 or 14 in between to keep their turn going. EX: A player can throw the following in a single turn: 25, 25, 14, 10, 30, 7, 25, 30, 7, 10, 14, 25, 3.
# Once all of the player's pieces are introduced onto the board, every time a player throws a 10, 25, or 30, the player must move their piece one additional square, which is known as PYADA. EX: A player casts 25, 25, 3 in their turn, and their pieces can move a total of 53 squares. However, when all the player's pieces have already been introduced onto the board, the player can then move a total of 55 squares (25+25+3+1+1), meaning 2 pyadas extra.
See also
*
Ashte kashte—a game with similar rules
*
Chaupur
Chaupar (IAST: ''caupaá¹›''), chopad or chaupad is a cross and circle board game very similar to pachisi, played in India. The board is made of wool or cloth, with wooden pawns and seven cowry shells to be used to determine each player's move, ...
*
Patolli
*
Parqués
*
Mensch ärgere Dich nicht
Mensch ärgere Dich nicht (English: ''Man, Don't Get Angry'') is a German board game (but not a German-style board game), developed by Josef Friedrich Schmidt in 1907/1908. Some 70 million copies have been sold since its introduction in 1914 and ...
*
Ludo
References
Citations
General bibliography
*
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*
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Further reading
*
External links
*
*{{Cite EB1911, wstitle=Pachisi, short=x
Cross and circle games
Traditional board games
Indian board games