Pachisi
The royal game of India: throw the cowrie shells, race your four pieces round the cross, and bring them home to the centre.
Mode
Players
Level
Throw the cowrie shells to begin.
How to play
- Each player has four pieces waiting in their yard. Everyone travels clockwise round the cross, then up their own coloured column to the centre.
- Throwing: six cowrie shells are thrown. The number landing mouth-up sets your move: 0 up = 12, 1 up = 10, 2 up = 2, 3 up = 3, 4 up = 4, 5 up = 25, 6 up = 6.
- Graces: throws of 12, 10, 25 and 6 are graces. A grace lets you bring a piece out of the yard onto your start square (the tip of your arm), and gives you another throw.
- Capturing: land on a single opposing piece to send it back to its yard, and throw again. Squares marked with a star are castles: pieces there can't be captured.
- Blocks: two of your pieces on one square form a block that opponents cannot land on or pass.
- Going home: reach the centre with an exact throw (the last square before it counts as the centre). Bringing all four pieces home wins.