Parchís is a Spanish

board game A board game is a type of tabletop game that involves small objects () that are placed and moved in particular ways on a specially designed patterned game board, potentially including other components, e.g. dice. The earliest known uses of the ...

of the original from the Cross and Circle family. It is an adaptation of the Indian game

Pachisi Pachisi ( , ) 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 player's pieces move aro ...

. Parchís was a very popular game in Spain at one point as well as in Europe and north Morocco - specifically Tangiers and Tetouan, and it is still popular especially among adults and seniors. Since it uses

dice A die (: dice, sometimes also used as ) is a small, throwable object with marked sides that can rest in multiple positions. Dice are used for generating random values, commonly as part of tabletop games, including dice games, board games, ro ...

, Parchís is not usually regarded as an

abstract strategy game An abstract strategy game is a type of strategy game that has minimal or no narrative theme, an outcome determined only by player choice (with minimal or no randomness), and in which each player has perfect information about the game. For example ...

checkers Checkers (American English), also known as draughts (; English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English), is a group of Abstract strategy game, strategy board games for two players which involve forward movements of uniform game ...

chess Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...

. It does not depend entirely on luck either, since the four pawns under a player's command demand some sort of strategy. Parchís is license-free in Spain, so in stores it is just as easy to find as a deck of cards, and is usually cheaper. Although the original game allows up to four players and has 68 spaces (that is, the board counts four colors: yellow, blue, red and green), six-player versions with 102 spaces are not hard to find (adding orange and purple, in that order), and eight-player boards with 136 spaces can be found in big toy stores. Traditionally, each player has a ''cubilete'' (dice cup) to shake and toss the dice. This does not affect the course of the game itself, but most habitual players find it imperative. On the reverse of the board it is usual to find a board for the Game of the Goose. The game can now be played on mobile. Certain apps offer real time multiplayer gameplay where you can play with real opponents across the world.

Rules

This game is played with one six-sided die and four pawns per player. Dice cups are optional, but most game sets include them. The players compete on leading their four pawns out of their nest, around the whole board, into the color track and up to the center of the board, chasing and "eating" each other in the process. A roll of five forces the player to release one pawn from the nest (if there are any left), and a roll of six gives the player an extra turn. When the player has four pawns in the game (outside the nest), whenever they get a six, they can move 7 squares. The rule gets cancelled if a pawn reaches the end and gets out of the board. If ever three 6s are rolled in a row, the last piece moved is killed and returned to the nest. If the last piece moved was in the final colored ramp, it is only moved to the bottom of it. And if the final move is in a secured square it remains there, and the turn is cancelled and passed to the next player. When a pawn "eats" an opponent's pawn (by landing on the same square, if it is not a safe square), it "kills" it, sending it back to the nest, and advances 20 squares. If a player doesn't notice a kill and moves another pawn, that pawn gets back to the nest. When a pawn reaches the end, one of the other pawns of the same color can advance ten squares. When one or two pawns of any other color are in the starting square and the player rolls a five, it eats the opposing pawn or pawns, in case it kills two opposing pawns, player can advance with 40 squares. Blockades can also be made with two pawns. In some variants, a blockade can be formed in any square, if both pawns belong to the same player—otherwise the last to arrive would kill the first. Pawns cannot jump over blockades, which causes "jams", making it easy for players to "eat" each other. A player must open a blockade if they toss a six with the dice.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parchis Cross and circle games