Pachisi (Ludo)
India's gift to the world's living rooms.
- Players
- 2 to 4
- Ages
- 5 and up
- What you need
- A ludo board and dice, or a cross drawn on cloth with cowrie shells
Pachisi is over a thousand years old and was played by Mughal emperors on courtyards inlaid into palace floors, with people as the pieces. It was patented in England in 1896 as Ludo. Every ludo board in the world is a descendant of an Indian game.
How to play
- 1Each player has four tokens starting in their home corner.
- 2Roll the die. A six lets you bring a token onto the board, and gives another roll.
- 3Move a token forward by the number rolled.
- 4Landing on a square occupied by an opponent sends their token back home.
- 5The first player to bring all four tokens around and into the centre wins.
Good for the body
None — but it will keep three generations at the same table for an hour, which counts for something.
Good for the brain
Counting, addition and an early feel for probability. Deciding whether to move a token to safety or press ahead is a real risk calculation, and children get noticeably better at it with practice.
A note for parents
Almost every Indian child's first board game, and quietly one of the best. Counting squares out loud is early arithmetic practice, and it is one of very few games where the whole family genuinely competes on equal terms.
Played today?
Ask a parent before going outdoors.