Aadu Puli Aatam, also known as "the goat and tiger game," is a strategy board game for two-players (or 2 teams) which originated in Tamil Nadu, a state in southern India.
The game is also played in Karnataka where it is called Huli Gatta, and in Andhra Pradesh, where it is called Puli Joodam.
Aadu Puli Aatam has been played on the same boards with almost the same rules for thousands of years. Ancient houses in Southern India commonly have a gameboard carved into tables, benches, floor tiles and railings.
There are many variations of the predator-and-prey games, including Bagh Chal in Asia, Komican in South America, and Fox & Geese in Europe.
There are also variants that simulate castle sieges.
It appears that Aadu Puli Attam was originally a teaching tool (as were so many games in India) to sharpen the player's insight and analytical prowess.
It could also teach people how to protect their goat herds!
Aadu Puli boards vary in shape and size, but the relationship of the positions on the board is almost always the same.
The game is asymmetrical—one player controls 3 tigers and the other player controls up to 15 goats. The tigers "hunt" the goats while the goats attempt to block the tigers' movements.
To start the game, the three Tigers are placed in the apex of the triangle. The goats start off the board.
The player with the Goats goes first and play alternates between the players ("I go, you go"). Goats are placed one per turn on any unoccupied point on the board.
One their turn, the player controlling the Tigers moves one Tiger one space in any direction to an adjacent space following the lines OR jumps over a Goat to an empty space on the other side of the Goat, also following the lines. The Goat is then removed from the board.
NOTE: Goats cannot move until all 15 have been placed on the board. On the very next turn, a Goat can be moved one space in any direction following the lines on the board. Goats cannot jump or capture Tigers.
The Tiger's objective is to remove five of the Goats from the game. At that point, it is impossible for the Goats to win, therefore the Tigers win. If the Goats manage to trap all three Tigers so they cannot move, then the Goats win.
For more information, please visit the NewVenture YouTube channel. To get a travel version of the game, click here to view Aadu Puli in our store.
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