The Leopard Games

Alternate Names

The Leopard Games, as they are often referred to, incorporate a series of games including Len Choa (Thailand), Hat Diviyan Keliya ("The Seven Leopards", Sri Lanka), Aadu Puli Aatam ("Goat Tiger Game", Tamil), Puli Meka (Telugu), Huli Ghatta (Kannada), Aadu Huli (Kannada) and Pulijudam (India).

No. of Players

Two

Equipment

History

These games originate from Southeast Asia.

Objective

The leopard player wins if the tiger(s) are immobilized so they can't move. The tiger player wins if he reduces the leopards to a number small enough to make their objective impossible.

Play

The game from Thailand called Len Choa is played on Leopard board 1 and commences with five or six leopard counters. The Sri Lankan game of Hat Diviyan Keliya is also played on Leopard board 1, but commences with seven leopard counters. The game described as Demala Diviyan Keliya in Sri Lanka or Rãfaya in India is played on board 4 and commences with fifteen leopard counters. The Hindustani game of Pulijudam is played on Leopard boards 5 and 6 and commences with fifteen leopard counters.

All of these games open with the tiger counter(s) positioned as shown above. Turns alternate and may consist of moving a single counter to an adjacent vacant position or the placement of a leopard counter. The leopards must all be dropped before they can be moved. All counters move by sliding along a line to an adjacent vacant point. A tiger may also capture a leopard by jumping over it along a line in any direction to an adjacent vacant position just beyond, but there are no multiple jumps and only a single leopard may be taken each turn. Capture is not compulsory.

Variations

Games described as ‘six dogs’ and ‘seven dogs’ are played on boards 2 and 3 and commence with six and seven leopard counters (here, apparently called dogs), respectively. I learned of these games from the internet and they are claimed to have been invented by a M. Winther.

Sources

1. http://mlwi.magix.net/bg/asian.htm