Game Rules

Pachisi

How the Game Is Played

Players move their pieces (one at a time) out of their starting area, take one trip around the track, and head up the middle (the home stretch) toward home. A piece can’t move from its base square to its entry space until the player has thrown a 5 on a die. You have the option of passing the rest of your turns after you have used at least one die value to move. Rolling doubles allows you an extra turn (but you lose a turn if you roll doubles three times).

You can be bumped back to your base if you’re not standing on a safety space when an enemy piece lands on you. The “bumping” player receives a 20-space bonus immediately.

Two pieces of the same color on the same space form a blockade that cannot be bypassed by any other pieces. A blockade cannot be advanced up the board with doubles.

The first player to bring all four of his or her pieces home is the winner. To enter home, you need an exact roll, for which you also receive a 10-space bonus.

Strategies for Pachisi

One decision you’ll need to make in Pachisi is whether you want to take an aggressive or conservative approach. Invariably, the former will land you back in your starting square and hoping for 5’s. We recommend the conservative approach, however, being aggressive does pay off big dividends if you can bump another piece: you get a 20-space bonus!

Conservative play involves entering safety spaces and avoiding being bumped by your opponent(s). You should end your move on a safety space whenever possible. Avoid leaving a safety space unless your piece is relatively safe from enemy pieces.

It is also important how far around the board your piece has traveled. Obviously, you do not want to risk a piece that has almost reached the safety of your home stretch.

Here, green might like to advance the front piece as far as possible: seven spaces. However, it is a poor risk. Blue and red, though not dangerously close, are close enough to warrant concern (doubles makes everyone a threat!). Because green’s front piece has advanced almost completely around the board, green’s first priority should be to keep it safe from attack. He should move this piece three spaces (onto the safety space), and move his other piece four spaces.

Remember: 5’s and 7’s are the magic numbers. They will take you from one safety space to another.

Advanced Strategies for Pachisi

Even if you play conservatively, at times you will have to endanger your pieces by advancing them forward unprotected (i.e., they’re not ending on a safety space or in a blockade). The key is to move the piece that will be least threatened by your opponents. Try to stay at least eight spaces (the more the better!) ahead of your closest opponent. A piece usually moves seven spaces or fewer in a given turn.

Of course, also consider the number of enemy pieces behind you; three pieces eight, nine, and 10 spaces back are far more likely to get you than one piece one space back!

You have the option of using just one of your die values, passing on the other. Use this rule to avoid placing a piece in danger. Green can take yellow by moving six. This is definitely good. However, after taking yellow, green can move zero, three, 20, or 23 additional spaces (with the 20-space bonus). Using the 20 will put him in considerable danger from blue and red. Moving three spaces is the less risky option.

Use blockades wisely by breaking them up carefully. If you allow enemy pieces to bump you as soon as you break up the blockade, what’s the point? A good place to build a blockade is on your entry square. The best time to build it is upon entering your last piece into play. This will allow you to continue advancing pieces while slowing down your opponents.