Rules of Parcheesi
- History of parcheesi
- Aim of the game
- How to play parcheesi
- Game controls
- Table options
- Ranking per points
History of parcheesi
Parcheesi is a game originated in India in the XVI century. The current star-shaped board is only a representation of the original one that was the garden of the emperor Akbar the Great. The center of the board represents the throne where the emperor used to sit in the center of the yard. On the other hand, the pieces correspond to the most beautiful Indian girls that moved from square to square and fought for the honor of playing for the emperor. The dice that decided the participants’ luck consisted of cowries, shells of molluscs that counted one point if they fell with the hollow faced up.
The parcheesi name comes from the word pacis, that means twenty-five in Hindu since the shells thrown in each series were twenty-five.
Aim of the game
In the modern version of Parcheesi each player has 4 pawns of the same colour (yellow, red, green and blue) and a starting area called home on the board which comprises 68 numbered squares, 12 of which are safe (marked with a circle in the centre), which any pawn can land on. What’s more, each player has 7 squares to home and one finish (a larger square in the centre of the board) which only the pawns of that colour can move on.
The aim of the game is to manage to take all the 4 pieces from home to the target square along all the board before the opponents.
How to play parcheesi
All the players start the game with the pieces in their respective nests, however it is possible to start the game with one piece at stake.
Before starting the game, each player will roll the dice. The player that gets the highest number will be the one that starts the game.
The players can take a piece out only when they get a 5. This action is compulsory whenever the player still has pieces at home, except if the start square is occupied by 2 pieces.
If the variation Superparcheesi with two dice is played, the player must take a piece out if the sum of both dice is a 5, for example 2+3. It is also possible to get 5 and 5 and take all the pieces out on the same turn.
Parcheesi (with 1 dice)
On the traditional parcheesi, the player can move the pieces that are at stake rolling the dice. It is compulsory to move one of the pieces along the squares that are indicated on the dice, if it is possible.
- If the player gets a 6, he/she can take the turn again. If all the pieces are out of the home, the 6 will be worth 7.
- If the player takes the turn three consecutive times (getting a “6” three times), the last piece moved will be taken home again. Except if he/she did not make any moves or if the last piece moved is in the target passage.
Superparcheesi (with 2 dice)
Superparcheesi of Mundigames is based on Ludo and there are some points in common. At first, when playing with two dice, the game becomes much more strategic.
Two moves are made on the same turn, being possible to be made with the same piece or with two different pieces (each one having the same value of the dice).
- If the player gets a double (the same number on the two dice), he/she can take the turn again (the rule of the 6 is not applied here)
- If the player takes the turn three consecutive times (getting a “double” three times), the last piece moved will be taken home again. Except if he/she did not make any moves or if the last piece moved is in the target passage.
Example: a player gets a 3-5. He/she must mandatorily take one piece out of home. Then, he/she can choose any pieces at stake to move it along 3 squares.
Example 2: a player gets a 5-5. He/she must mandatorily take two pìeces out of home if it is possible and will take the turn again.
Blockades
A blockade is made when two pawns of the same colour land on the same square. If the table options indicate, it’s also possible for two different coloured pawns can make a blockade on a safe square. The blockades prevent any other pawn from passing.
If there are two pieces that do not form a blockade on a square, any piece can jump over them, but never be placed in that position.
- Breaking a blockade on the regular Parcheesi (1 dice). When a player has some of his/her pieces forming a blockade and gets a 6 on his/her turn, he/she is forced to open the barrier, that is, to move one of the pieces that form the blockade if it is possible. If the player has more than one blockade available, he/she can break the one he/she wants.
- Opening the blockade in Superparcheesi (2 dice). The same happens as in the previous case, but the player must get a double. The game does not allow to open a blockade and form a new one with the same pieces on the same turn.
Captures
To capture the piece of an opponent, it is just necessary to be placed in the same square whenever it is not a safe. The piece “eaten” will return home and the player that got the capture must advance 20 squares with one of his/her pieces, when it is possible.
If a player on his/her turn gets a 5 and his/her start square is occupied by two pieces, and one or both of them do not belong to that player, he/she can eat the last piece that reached home on that square and count 20 (as in any other captures). This action is also called crushing in some regions.
If the game is in pairs, it is possible to capture your opponent’s piece.
Reaching the goal
If a piece manages to go all the way around the board, it can reach the target. To manage to introduce a piece in the target square, the player must get the exact number on the dice. A piece cannot be eaten by the opponent in the finish squares.
If a piece reaches the target, the player must mandatorily count 10 with any of his/her pieces, whenever it is possible.
The winner is the player that manages to place his/her 4 pieces on the target square.
Play in pairs
In the variation in pairs, the game does not finish until the pieces of the two players of a pair reach the target. If one of the partners already has the pieces inside, he/she can play on his/her turn with the pieces of the partner.
Game controls
Click on the central circle with the left button of the mouse to throw the dice.
To move one piece, click on it to catch it and click on it again to place it in the square indicated (it is also possible to sweep it with just one click); to place it back in its orignal position, release the piece in any parts of the board.
Why do robots play? What for?
In some games, when a player loses connection during the game, a robot substitutes until the player can return. The player has a time allowed of some minutes to return to the game and continue playing.
End the game amicably (cancel game)
Some games have the option of ending the game amicably. If this happens, the game is cancelled. That is, the players don’t receive or lose points and the game doesn’t count in the leaderboards or statistics. What’s more, the chips bet are returned to each player (except in the case of penalisation for abandoning the game).
To cancel a game, one of the players must click the following button 
. All the players must agree to end the game, otherwise the game will continue.
The robot doesn’t count in the votes to end a game amicably.
Table options
The table options are chosen by the master (the first player to sit at the table and that has a star 
beside his/her avatar).
To see or change the table options, press the following button 
. The table options can be changed before starting a game or in the middle of the games. If the icon is changed to red, that means the master changed some of the options.
- Time per turn
- Used to indicate the time a player has to play on his/her turn. If the time ends, the game plays for him/her. See also: Game in automatic mode
- Compete for points and chips.
- Permits playing competitive games. Deactivate this option to practise (you will not score points or win chips, nor will you get badges or level up).
- Bet per game:
- Indicate the amount of game chips you will bet in the game. The winner takes the pot. See also: What are the game chips? How can I get them?
- Private table.
- If this option is active, only invited players or friends can sit in. See also: How to invite other players to play at your table.
- Spectators allowed.
- Other people can enter the table to watch the game and chat. See also: Watchers during the games
- Allow blockades of distint colors
- If this option is enabled, two pieces of a distint color can form a barrier on a safe. The rule of 6 is applied to open the blockade.
- Start with one piece at stake
- This option is enabled by default and it allows all the players to have a piece on the start square when starting.
- Superparcheesi: play with two dice
- Enable this option to play the Superparcheesi variation with two dice.
Ranking for points
To take part in the leaderboard of this game, it is necessary to be registered and have chips enough to meet the bets.
To score points, the games have to be competitive (indicated by a boxing glove or swords). There is no scoring if 2 players at the table share the same IP.
If at one table game chips are being bet, you will need to have sufficient chips available to cover the bet. The winner of the game will get the XP points and the chips bet (the bank will receive 25% of the pot).
The experience points (XP) got depend on the number of players and they are calculated 10×number of players. If the game is in pairs, the points are shared between the winning pair.
- 2 players: 20 XP points
- 3 players: 30 XP points
- 4 players: 40 XP points
- In pairs: 20 points for each
The players that lose a game, add 5 points.