Pachisi may be a game that was developed in India centuries ago, probably somewhere around the sixteenth century, but it can still provide hours of fascinating play for modern board games enthusiasts.
The traditional game is played on a cross-shaped board, using cowrie shells, obtained from sea snails, to indicate how many spaces a player gets to move on the Pachisi board.
The modern Pachisi game has changed little from the original version.
The Strategy of Playing Pachisi
The object, like in many board games, is to move all the way around the Pachisi cross and back to the center, or Charkoni.
Players take turns throwing the six cowrie shells, or dice, in order to move. The number of moves is determined by the cowrie shells which land with their openings facing upward. A chart is available to determine the number of moves associated with each cowry that lands upright.
The highest number of moves available in Pachisi is twenty-five; for this reason, the game is sometimes labeled "twenty-five."
The Participants
While Pachisi can be played by individuals, most participants play in teams with two players working together as partners.
One team is assigned the yellow and black playing pieces, which are shaped like a beehive. The other team receives the red and green markers.
The Moves
Each Pachisi player first moves down the center of his or her own section of the board; then, the play moves counter-clockwise along the outside of the cross. Although players can have more than one marker on the board at once, they may only move once for each throw of the cowrie, or they can refuse to move at all.
