Pachisi

PachisiPachisiPachisi is a board game of skill and chance that belongs to the race category of games. The game is played usually by four players (players sitting opposite of each other are on a team), who attempt to move their four pieces around the cross-shaped board and back to their central starting positions faster than their opponents. Pachisi is a game of both skill and chance, as movement of pieces is determined by the unpredictable nature of casting die, yet the player can choose which piece to move, or whether to move at all. Today, Pachisi is also played in Indian homes and cafes, usually on boards are made of decorated cloth tht can be rolled up and carried away.

A basic Pachisi board

Rules

Pachisi is played on a board or cloth that is cut into a cross and divided into squares. The marked squares represent safty areas (or, castles) in which the pieces are free from capture. A castle occupied by a player's piece is open to his partner's pieces, but closed to his enemies. Each player has four beehive-shaped pieces marked with his own colors. Movement of these pieces is determined by throwing six cowrie shells like dice (more modern forms use coins). Scoring went like this:

How many mouths (or, heads) up -------------score

2 2

3 3

4 4

5 5

6 6, and another throw

1 10, and another throw

0 25, and another throw

Players sitting opposite of eachother are partners. Each piece enters from the central space known as the Char-Koni, and travels down the middle of his own limb and then around the board, returning up the middle of his own limb and back to the Char-Koni. On arriving back at the middle row of their own limb, the pieces are placed on their side to show that they have completed the circuit. The pieces can only reach home by an exact throw.

Visual representation of how pieces move on a Pachisi board.

Rules:

1. The cowries are thrown from the hands. When 6, 10, or 25 is thrown the player has an extra turn and he continues until he throws a 2,3,4, or 5; when his turn of play ends. On finishing a turn the player moves his pieces before the next player begins his turn. Each throw allows the player to move a piece the indicated number of squares and if he throws more than once in a turn, the different throws may be used to move different pieces; but a single throw cannot be split, i.e. on a throw of 4, a piece moves four squares, the player is not allowed to move two pieces two squares each.

2. A capture is made by a player moving a piece on to a square other than a castle square, occupied by an enemy piece. The latter is removed from the moard and must re-enter the game at the Char-koni, with a throw of 6, 10, or 25. A player making a capture has another throw.

3. At the beginning of a game a players first piece may enter the board whatever the throw, but the other pieces can only be entered on throwing a 6, 10, or 25.

4. The pieces move counter-clockwise

5. A player may refuse to play when it comes to his turn, or he may throw and then refuse to make use of it. He may do this to avoid the risk of capture or to help his partner. On reaching the castle at the end of the third limb, he may wait there in saftey until he throws a 'twenty-five' and then move out in one throw.

6. Pieces may double up on any square to form a blockade. In this case, no pieces may move past this spot unless the player moves one of the pieces or an opponent lands an equal or greater number of pieces on the blockade on the same turn.

History

Pachisi (also called Twenty-Five) is the national game of India. There are definite accounts that the game existed over 1,200 years ago, however, some evidences suggest that the game was played as early as 40 C.E. Pachisi was, and is, extremely popular in India, especially considering how important the game seemed to be to historic Indian royalty. While the game is naturally a board game, Emperor Akbar the Great, a Modul Emporer who ruled from 1556-1605, played the game on courts made of inlaid marble. In the center of the court lay a dias four feet high on which he and his courtiers sat, while sixteen young slaves of the harem, wearing appropriate attire, moved about on red and white squares as directed by the throw of cowrie shells. Traces of these boards are still visible at the cities of Agra and Allabahad.

In 1896 Pachisi was modified and introduced into England as Ludo.

Game Design Elements

Pachisi's design is simple and addictive. The delicate combination of player skill and random chance in relation to the core mechanic of movement serves to create a climate of tension within the playing environment. This climate is very similar to the climate created by a more familiar and modern game, poker, due to its integration of skill and chance in relation to its core mechanic. This means that the game-play of Pachisi almost invariably never grows stale; while it is possible to get better at it, there is always an element of insecurity present in the most adept players.

All other game design elements are secondary as they serve the purpose of balancing the division between skill and chance. For example, the ability to capture pieces grants the player a means of forming a strategy, yet movement is random due to the throwing of cowrie shells or other objects.

Art

On a basic board, all art elements are functional (i.e. squares dividing the board to supply spaces for movement), however, there are versions of boards that contain purely decorative art.

References

Bell, R. C. Board and table games from many civilizations. New York: Dover Publications, 1979. Print.

Provenzo, Asterie B., and Eugene F. Provenzo, Jr. Favorite Board Games you can Make or Play. Mineola: Dover Publications, 1990. Print.

Links

Online version: http://www.gamedesire.com/online.game-pachisi.html