Rules of Classic Parcheesi

Parcheesi is a board game that originated in India in the 16th century. The current design is only a representation of the original, which was actually the garden of Emperor Akbar the Great.

Board and counters

Each player has 4 counters of a certain colour (yellow, red, green or blue). The board is made up of various key areas. In each of the four corners is a square, called a house, where players must wait to draw their counters at the start of the game. In the centre of the board is the goal, a crucial square that players must reach to win the game, and which has four entrances, one for each colour.

The route to the goal square is divided into passage squares, which are white segments through which the counters advance. In addition, there are special boxes called safeties, which are located both at the exits and along the board.

Aim of the game

The aim is to get the 4 counters from the house to the final goal square before the other players. Throughout the game, players must move their counters around the board, dodging barriers, eating their opponents' counters and taking advantage of the opportunities offered by the dice.

Number of players

This is a four-player game.

Moving and capturing counters

After choosing your bet level and joining other players, the game will start.
At the start of the game, all the counters are in the house of their colour. Each player will roll the die once per turn, and if they get a 6, they may repeat their turn. If the dice score does not allow any moves to be made, the player does nothing. The counters move in an anticlockwise direction, and those in the house or in the goal cannot move. If a counter advances beyond the goal square, it must move back or "bounce" so as not to pass it. Only the house and the goal square can contain up to 3 or 4 counters.

When a player rolls a 1, 2, 3 or 4 on the dice, they can move one of their counters the indicated number of squares. If they get a 5, they can move a counter from their house to the starting square or move a counter already in play 5 squares. If the die shows a 6, the player may move one of their counters six squares, but only if they have counters in their house. If they have no counters in their house, they will move 7 squares. If a player gets three 6s in a row, the last counter they moved must go home.

No counter may pass through or "eat" a barrier. If, when rolling the dice, a counter comes across a square occupied by two of another player's counters forming a barrier, it can’t move forward that turn. If a player has a counter on a barrier and rolls a 6, they must open the barrier, unless the counter on the barrier cannot move forward. If a counter lands on a white, numbered square occupied by a counter of another colour, it will be eaten and returned home. The player who eats the counter gets 20 points and rolls the dice again.

It is not possible to eat counters in the starting boxes or in the safety boxes. There can’t be more than two counters at the start; if a player takes a counter out of their house and finds two counters of other colours in the square, they must eat the last one to arrive, get 20 points and roll the dice again. When a player succeeds in getting a counter into the goal, they can move forward 10 squares with another of their counters and roll the dice again. The winner is the player who gets all 4 counters to the goal first.

Challenge your friends, take to the board and show who is the true Parcheesi champion! The fun starts now!