How to Play Pachisi

By Jaques of London · Est. 1795 · Updated 2026-08-17

Pachisi is a race-and-capture board game for two to four players, played on a distinctive cross-shaped cloth or board divided into coloured squares. Each player controls four pieces and tries to move them all around the board and into the central finishing square, using throws of cowrie shells or dice to determine movement while blocking and capturing opponents along the way.

The game rewards a mix of luck and tactical decision-making, making it accessible to children while still engaging for adults. It is widely played across South Asia as a family and social game, and versions of it appear in homes, community spaces, and schools throughout the world.

A little history

Pachisi is documented in India from at least the sixteenth century and is described and depicted at the Mughal court of Emperor Akbar, who is widely reported to have played a life-sized version in his palace at Fatehpur Sikri. The name is commonly linked to the Hindi word for twenty-five, the highest score achievable with six cowrie shells in the traditional form of the game. Its deeper origins are unclear, and scholarly opinion on how old the game truly is or exactly where it first appeared remains divided.

Setting up

1. Place the board flat in the centre of the table so the four arms of the cross point towards each player.
2. Each player chooses a colour and takes the four pieces of that colour.
3. All pieces begin in the centre square, known as the Charkoni or Home square.
4. Identify each player's home column: the central column of squares running up each arm of the cross, which leads back to the Charkoni. Each player's pieces must travel up their own home column to finish.
5. Determine who goes first by each player throwing the shells or dice; the highest score starts, and play proceeds clockwise.

How to play

1. On your turn, throw all six cowrie shells. Count the number of shells landing mouth-up to determine your move score: 1 mouth-up = 10 points and a bonus throw; 2 = 2; 3 = 3; 4 = 4; 5 = 25 and a bonus throw; 6 mouth-up = 6 and a bonus throw; 0 mouth-up = 25 and a bonus throw. If using two dice, use the total shown.
2. To enter a piece onto the board from the Charkoni, you must throw a 6, 10, or 25. Place the entering piece on the first square of your home column's opposite end, which is the starting square for your colour.
3. Move one piece the number of squares indicated by your throw, travelling along the outer squares of the board in a clockwise direction (the exact starting direction depends on which arm is yours) and eventually turning up your own home column toward the Charkoni.
4. You may choose to move any one of your pieces already on the board, or to enter a new piece if your throw qualifies. You cannot split a throw between two pieces.
5. If your piece lands on a square occupied by an opponent's piece, you capture it: the opponent's piece is returned to the Charkoni and must re-enter the board from scratch. You also earn a bonus throw upon capturing.
6. Certain squares are marked as safe squares (often shown in a contrasting colour or marked with a cross). A piece resting on a safe square cannot be captured. Pieces of any colour may stack on a safe square without conflict.
7. If two or more of your own pieces occupy the same ordinary square, they form a block. No opponent piece may pass through or land on a blocked square. You may also merge two pieces of your own colour on the same square deliberately to create this barrier.
8. A piece completes the circuit when it has travelled all the way around the board and entered its home column. It must move up the home column to the Charkoni by an exact throw. If the throw would overshoot the Charkoni, the piece cannot move that turn.
9. Bonus throws (earned by throwing a qualifying score, capturing a piece, or bearing a piece off) are taken immediately and can be used to move the same or a different piece.
10. Continue taking turns clockwise until one player has moved all four pieces into the Charkoni.

Winning and scoring

The first player to move all four of their pieces into the central Charkoni square wins the game. Each piece must enter the Charkoni by an exact throw: a piece sitting one square away needs a score of exactly one to finish. In some two-player and four-player partnership variants, play continues to determine second and third place, but the standard game ends as soon as one player completes all four pieces.

The fine points

The most common dispute concerns whether a piece can enter the Charkoni with any throw once it reaches the final square of the home column, or whether it requires an exact score. The standard ruling is that an exact throw is required, and a piece that cannot move exactly stays in place until a suitable throw arrives. A second common issue is the treatment of pieces meeting on a safe square: pieces of any colour may coexist there without capture, and no bonus throw is awarded for landing on an occupied safe square.

Blocking rules occasionally cause confusion when a player has a two-piece block across a narrow section of the board. The ruling is that no piece, including the blocking player's own other pieces, can pass through the block, which means a player can inadvertently trap their own pieces behind their own barrier. Partnership games (two teams of two, sitting opposite) introduce the additional question of whether partners may capture each other: the standard answer is no, partners' pieces may share squares freely and neither can capture the other.

How to win more often

• Get at least two pieces onto the board early rather than advancing one piece far ahead on its own, as a single exposed piece is easily sent home.
• Use your own pieces to form blocks on key squares in narrow sections of the board, particularly near your opponents' starting areas, to slow multiple rivals at once.
• Prioritise occupying safe squares when you are within striking distance of an opponent, as even a temporary sanctuary can keep a well-advanced piece alive.
• In the final stages, resist the temptation to rush a single piece into the Charkoni if doing so means leaving other pieces stranded far behind; a balanced advance across all four pieces reduces the number of times you will waste throws on pieces that cannot move.

Variations

Four-player Partnership

Players sitting opposite each other form a team of two. Partners share the objective of moving all eight combined pieces into the Charkoni before the opposing pair does. Partners' pieces may share squares and pass through each other freely, and neither partner may capture the other's pieces. This version adds a layer of cooperative tactics and is widely considered the most strategic form of the game.

Dice Pachisi

Instead of six cowrie shells, two standard six-sided dice are used. The total of both dice determines movement, and doubles grant a bonus throw, mirroring the privilege of high cowrie scores. This version is more accessible where cowrie shells are unavailable and is the form most commonly found in Western markets.

Two-player Pachisi

Each player controls two sets of four pieces, using two colours each, and operates them as a single force. The board layout and rules remain unchanged, but each player effectively has eight pieces to manage. This keeps the board busy and maintains the blocking and capture dynamics that the game loses with only two single-colour players in play.

Simplified Entry Rule

In a common family variant, any throw may be used to enter a piece onto the board rather than requiring a 6, 10, or 25. This keeps younger or less experienced players from falling badly behind in the early game and is recommended when playing with children under eight. All other rules remain standard.

Pachisi: frequently asked questions