Thayam

Thayam, also known as Paramapadham, translates into Snakes and Ladders in English. This game comes from ancient India and holds an important place in Hinduism. Thayam also goes by Parama Pada Sopanam, meaning 'Step to the Highest Place. It is generally accepted that Thayam is an allegory for man's perpetual endeavor to reach God. The snakes (all of which carry special names) represent vices which bring you down and the ladders represent virtues which bring you higher and closer to the heavens.

Rules

• • Players place their game pieces (which can be anything: seeds, coins, paper etc...) on the square labeled with a "0". They can only begin when a player rolls a "1' with the dice. The players roll the dice in a clockwise order and the one with the highest number goes first.

the player who goes first must roll the dice and move his marker the designated number of squares. All of the players follow in order.

• • If a player's piece lands at the beginning of a snake or a ladder square, they must follow the symbol in the direction it indicates and must resume play on the square that the snake or ladder lands on. Snakes only go back and ladders only go forward.

  • If a player rolls a 1, 5 or 6, he receives an extra turn and must keep going where the board dictates. However, if he rolls a 6 three ties in a row, he must return to the "0" square and cannot move until he throws another 6 on his turn.

  • Since this game has gone through several iterations and incarnations, some boards have special directions like, "go back 3 spaces if X condition is met". Follow these special directions.

• The game is won by the player who reaches the "100" square first.

History

Thayam originated in ancient India, predating its modern version by a potential couple thousand years. It's most common purpose was to teach children Hindu ideals and values through the medium of a game and play.

Historians believe it was created by the 13th century poet, Saint Gyandev. However, there is evidence to indicate that the game existed as far back as the 2^nd century BC.

In 1892, the British took the game back to England, renamed it Snakes and Ladders and changed the message to better suit their own Victorian Ideals.

Game Design Elements

This game has incredibly simple design elements. It relies heavily, if not solely on chance and the player will soon realize that he has no real control over the outcome. You and your opponents begin at the same location and whether or not your piece gets to the ladder or the snake depends entirely on luck--which isn't a very motivational game mechanic to the religiously disinclined. It was originally used to teach Hindu principals and as far as that goes, it succeeds, but when you strip Thayam of its educational value, it becomes a race game of luck. There are a few rules that put handicaps on the incredibly lucky, but all in all, the player can only move as the game dictates and at no point faces making decisions.

Art

The board has 100 squares and it is punctuated by snakes and ladders. In the original version, each snake and ladder symbolized a virtue or a vice. Ladders stood for virtues since they allowed the player to progress further and snakes represented vices as they took the player back. In modern versions of this game, the squares on which the chutes and ladders begin often have a picture of an honorable or dishonorable deed--almost justifying the sudden location change of the player's marker, telling them what they did to deserve their fate.

It is an otherwise blank board, save for the squares, their numbers and occasional religious symbols hugging the sides and the margins.