Ancient Indian Boardgames: Digital Documentation

Title (dcterms:title)

Bagh Chal

Description (dcterms:description)

Bagh Chal is played on an alquerque board by two players. One has four tigers, while the other has twenty goats. The tigers need to jump over and eat five goats whereas the goat needs to corner all the tigers to win. The game is the national game of Nepal and exists in multiple variations all over South Asia. There are multiple variants of the game across South Asia.

Alternative Title (dcterms:alternative)

Bagh Chal Alternative Names: Bagh Bandi, Tigers and Goats, Baghchakkar, Chakrachhal, Sher Bakr, Bagh Batti, Sher Bakar, Kaooa, Bam Blang Beh Khla, Bagha Guti, Tagnor, Adu Puli Attam, Puli Meka, Ada Huli, Terhuchu, Kulaochal

Rules (dcterms:instructionalMethod)

Bagh Chal is played on an alquerque board by two players. One has four tigers, while the other has twenty goats. Henceforth they will be called the tiger player and the goat player.
1. The game begins with four tigers on the board, one in each corner, as shown in the diagram.
2. The twenty goats are kept in hand by the player who has taken their side.
3. The goat player takes the first turn.
4. If the goat player has goats in hand, he must use his turn to place one on any empty point on the board.
5. If the goat player has placed all the goats, then he must instead use his turn to move one of the goats from its current position, along a marked line in any direction, to an adjacent empty point.
6. The tiger player in his turn may move a tiger from its current position, along a marked line in any direction, to an adjacent empty point.
7. Only one piece may occupy a point at any one time; stacking of pieces is not allowed.
8. A tiger may sometimes capture, or eat, a goat, instead of moving as described in rule 6.
9. To eat a goat, the tiger player must jump with one of his tigers along a marked line, over an adjacent goat, to an empty point beyond. The goat is then removed from the board and takes no further part in play.
10. The tiger may not change direction in the middle of its jump. A goat is only in danger of being eaten if on one side it has a tiger, and on the other an empty space.
11. Only one goat may be eaten in any one turn. Multiple jumps are not allowed.
12. The tiger player wins when his tigers have eaten five goats.
13. The goat player wins if the tigers are trapped and the tiger player has no legal move.

Source (dcterms:source)

Gautam Sen Memorial Boardgames Museum

Rights (dcterms:rights)

Creative Commons

Format (dcterms:format)

Boardgame

Medium (dcterms:medium)

Stone

References (dcterms:references)

Cyningistan - Bagh Chal

Spatial Coverage (dcterms:spatial)

Nepal; variants are played all over India

Entered by (dcterms:accrualMethod)

Souvik Mukherjee

Tags (dcterms:conformsTo)

Two-player

Alquerque

Bagh Chal

Capture

Hunt

Shape: Square