Rules & Tutorial Guide
Learn to play Chausar — the ancient Indian board game of strategy, luck, and cunning
What is Chausar?
Chausar (also called Chaupar or Pachisi) is a traditional Indian board game dating back over 2,500 years. It was famously played in the Mahabharata and is considered the ancestor of modern Ludo. The game combines dice luck with strategic pawn movement, captures, and racing.
In ancient times, cowrie shells were used as dice — their landing pattern determined the roll. In this digital version, we use a standard 1–6 die for simplicity.
2 – 4
Players
4
Pawns Each
52
Board Squares
The Board
Chausar is played on a cross-shaped board with 52 path squares arranged in four arms. Each arm has 13 squares, and the center is the finishing home.
Players
Chausar supports 2 to 4 players. Each player controls 4 pawns and must race all 4 to the center home before opponents.
Objective
Be the first player to move all 4 of your pawns from your home base, around the entire board, and back to the center home square.
Turns
Players take turns clockwise. On each turn, roll the dice and move one of your active pawns the rolled number of squares forward.
The Path
Each pawn travels the outer path of 52 squares, then turns into a colored home column leading to the center. The path differs per player color.
Safe Squares
Marked with a star (⭐), safe squares protect your pawns from capture. Pawns on safe squares cannot be sent back to base by opponents.
Board Layout
Green Home
4 pawns start here
Yellow Home
4 pawns start here
Red Home
4 pawns start here
Blue Home
4 pawns start here
🏠 Center Home — All pawns must reach here to win