Ancient Indian Boardgames: Digital Documentation

Title (dcterms:title)

Bagha Chheli ( Odisha)

Description (dcterms:description)

This game has been recorded by Hem Chandra Das Gupta and the informant was from Odisha; it is also called Bagha Bajari. This is explained as another variant of Bagh Chal which is played popularly all across India. There are variants in Bhutan and this hunt game is popular in Nepal too. The variants of the structure of the boards vary, along with the number of pieces representing the goats and tigers but the intention of winning the game, remains the same in most cases.

Two players are necessary for playing this game, one in charge of the tigers and the other in charge of the goats. The tigers are 4 in number while the number of the goats is 20. Before the commencement of the game, the tigers are arranged at the places indicated in the figure by the circles and 4 goats are kept on any 4 cross-points according to the discretion of the player. The move begins with the man who has got the tigers, and the player who has the remaining 16 goats in his hand must place all of them on the cross-points one after another before he may move any goat on the diagram from one cross-point to another. The player with the tiger tries to capture as many goats as he can while the other player aims at checkmating his opponent.

Alternative Title (dcterms:alternative)

Bagha-Bajari, 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, Puli Judham

Rules (dcterms:instructionalMethod)

5x5 board, played on intersections of the lines, with diagonals for each quadrant of the board. One player plays as four tigers, the other as twenty goats. The tigers begin, two on the top two corners of the board, and two in the centers of the two bottom quadrants. Four of the goats are placed on any available points. The tigers move first, to an empty adjacent spot along the lines on the board. The player playing as the goats places one of the remaining goats on any available point. The goats cannot move until all of the goats are placed. Once they are all placed, the goats move as the tigers do. The tigers alone may capture a goat by hopping over it to an empty spot immediately opposite a goat. The tigers win by capturing all the goats; the goats win by blocking the tigers from being able to move.

Creator (dcterms:creator)

Hem Chandra Das Gupta

Source (dcterms:source)

‘A Few Types Of Sedentary Games’ by Hem Chandra Das Gupta in Sedentary Games of India eds. Nirbed Ray and Amitabha Ghosh

Contributor (dcterms:contributor)

Hem Chandra Das Gupta

Rights (dcterms:rights)

Creative Commons

Format (dcterms:format)

Boardgames

Medium (dcterms:medium)

Boardgames on Text

References (dcterms:references)

‘A Few Types Of Sedentary Games’ by Hem Chandra Das Gupta in Sedentary Games of India eds. Nirbed Ray and Amitabha Ghosh

Ludii Database - Tigers and Goats

Wiki Commons: Bagha cheli is a traditional board game from Odisha. This image was photographed by Subhashish Panigrahi during a house game play by two players in Bengaluru, India.

Wikimedia Commons: Bagha Bajari Board

Odisha Post - Fading into Oblivion

Spatial Coverage (dcterms:spatial)

Odisha

Variants (dcterms:isVersionOf)

Bagha Chheli ( Odisha)

Baghchakkar or Chakrachal

Sher Bakr

Bagh Batti

Sher Bakar

Kaooa

Taag dha Nor or Tagnor (Tiger and Cow)

Bagh Chal, Kamakhya

Mughal Pathan

Bam Blang Beh Khla

Bagha Guti

Bagh Bandi

Bagh Chal, Bull Temple (4)

Baghchal, Bull Temple (3)

Baghchal, Handmade

Bagh Chal, Pataleshwar (3)

Baghchal, Pataleshwar (2)

Baghchal, Pataleshwar (1)

Bagh Chal, Bull Temple (2)

Bagh Chal, Bull Temple (1)

Entered by (dcterms:accrualMethod)

Adrija Mukherjee

Tags (dcterms:conformsTo)

Sedentary Games

Odisha

Bagh Chal

Alquerque

Two-player

Hunt

Capture

Shape: Square