The origin of Pachisi, a traditional Indian four-player game can be traced to the 4th Century AD. It was the royal game played by the Maharajas, the nobility and the common men in leisure. The Mughal Emperor Akbar played the variant of Pachisi; Chauper on huge inlaid marble court employing slaves from the harem as his pawns/pieces.

The Pachisi board (shown in the picture) is made of cloth in a patchwork design. The four arms/limbs of the board are conjoined at the center called ‘Char Koni’. Each arm in the length of 17” has three marked squares in orange color called ‘castles’ to distinguish them from the maroon squares. The game set comes with a set of 12 beehive shaped wooden pawns in colors of yellow, black, red, and green. The players throw cowrie shells on the Char Koni and the move of the pawns are determined by the number of shells that fall with the open face. The objective of the game is to get all the four pawns allocated to each player from a set of 12 to complete the round of the board as fast as possible.

This lightweight potable Pachisi board also has a safety pocket for the cowries at the Char Koni area. The game comes in a cloth carry bag along with a booklet on the Rules of Games.

Today, variants of Pachisi like Ludo and American Parcheesi have become immensely popular. But if you want to savor the real mind game that once was the favorite past time of the Indian royalty then Pachisi is the best option to relax and of course sharpen your wits.