We travel back to India, the birthplace and incubator of dozens of ancient and traditional tabletop games. This is one of the more popular Indian race games that may be as old as 2300 years.
According to several sources, there are references to this game in the greatest of all ancient Indian epics. The Mahabharata was compiled between the 3rd century BC and the 3rd century CE. That's sort of an estimate, nobody actually knows for certain. But this massive poem contains 24,000 verses, and scholars say that it reached its current form during the 4th century CE.
In that great epic, games are mentioned — primarily a game called Pasha, but also Chauper, Pachisi, and Chaturanga. Although the text doesn't specifically mention Chowka Bhara, the game is definitely similar to Pasha and Pachisi, I guess it's logical to assume that it dates to the same period, or close.
There are two factors that made this research difficult, if not a bit tedious. India has many regions within its borders - many subcultures, and many languages. There are, in fact, 22 officially recognized languages in modern India. So although I'm using the name Chowka Bhara for this video, all the names below refer to the same game.
- Chauka Bara - Kannada - Mysuru region - Karnataka
- Gatta Bara - Kannada - Mysuru region - Karnataka
- Katte Mane - Kannada - Rural Mysuru - Karnataka
- Gatta Mane - Kannada - Rural Mysuru - Karnataka
- Chakaara - Kannada - Karnataka
- Pakidakali - Malayalam - Kerala region
- Ashta Chamma - Telugu - Andhra Pradesh/Telangana
- Daayam or Thaayam - Tamil - Tamil Nadu
- Atthu (?????) - Hindi - Madhya Pradesh
- Kanna Kauri (????? ?????) - Hindi - Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh
- Kavidi Kali - Malayalam - Kerala
- Chunga (????) - Hindi - Madhya Pradesh
- Champool - Marathi - Maharashtra
- Kach Kangri - Marathi - Maharashtra
- Challas Aath - Marathi - Western Maharashtra
- Champal Paani (???? ????) - Marathi - Central Maharashtra
- Ahmedabad Baji - Gujarati - Gujrat
- Chomal Ishto - Gujarati - Gujrat
- Kaangi Chaala - Gujarati - Gujrat
- Mach Kooki - Gujarati - Gujrat
- Changa Po - Rajasthan
- Cheeta - Madhya Pradesh
- Chanda - Madhya Pradesh
- Teri Chowk - Chhattisgarh
Some of these local names represent slight variations of the basic rules, too. You might called them "regional house rules."
I found one reference that stated clearly that the game first developed in the southern state of Karnataka. So for the purpose of this video, I'll be using their name for the game: Chowka Bhara.
The Chowka Bhara game board is normally a 5x5 array of spaces with some spaces crossed (refer to the graphics or the YouTube video). It's a game for 2, 3, or 4 players, but it feels a little awkward with three players.
The randomizers used in the game are traditionally a set of 4 cowrie shells. You can use any set of binary dice, like stick dice or coins. they work just as well.
Each player will control four pegs of a single color. These start off the board. Through the course of the game, players will go in turn from the start player leftward around the table. The first player can be chosen any way you like.
On each turn, a player will toss the cowries then move a peg. The result of tossing the cowries will be added together.
1 flat side up = a move of 1 and no more rolls can be made
2 flat side up = a move of 2 and no more rolls can be made
3 flat side up = a move of 3 and no more rolls can be made
4 flat side up = "ashta": Enter a peg onto the path
OR add 4 to the total so far, and another toss is made,
0 flat side up = "chamma": Enter a peg onto the path
OR add 8 to the total so far, and another toss is made.
Note that a player may roll multiple times during a turn before you move any pegs.
If a player throws either a Chamma or an Ashta three times consecutively during their turn, they have "busted." This means their turn is over and they cannot use any of the total accumulated during that turn.
It's not a choice. If you roll an ashta or chamma, you MUST roll again.
After all the cowries are tossed and the total determined, the player can move one or more of their pegs that total number of spaces.
The first move for any peg is to enter the game at the center of the player's edge of the board. Pegs enter the board immediately after a Chamma or Ashta is thrown.
It is not mandatory to enter a new peg onto the board, the result could be used to move a peg or pegs around the path instead. But if the result is used to enter a peg, it cannot be used as a move also.
This doesn't end the turn! The additional roll of cowries can still be made.
If a second Chamma or Ashta is rolled, another peg is started onto the board.
If a THIRD Chamma or Ashta is rolled, the turn is over and a third peg cannot be started.
Each players' path is the same relative to their edge of the board. The path for player 1 at the bottom of the image is shown in the graphic as a blue line.
If a player's single peg lands on a square occupied by opponent's single peg, then the opponent's peg is "killed." The killed peg returns to its owner and the active player gets an extra turn.
Likewise, a player moving two pegs into a space with two of an opponent's pegs already there, both of the opponent's pegs are killed. The same applies for three and four pegs moving together.
Crossed boxes are safe spaces where pegs cannot be killed. If a safe space has no room for additional pegs, the excess pegs are moved on to the next available space in the normal direction of movement. This may include moving into the inner spaces or into the center space.
A player cannot move a peg into the second ring spaces on the board until they have killed at least one opposing peg. If they reach their starting square before killing another peg, they must continue moving around the outer spaces until they do.
The objective, as you might have guessed, is to reach the inner space by exact count. A peg moving into the center space is removed from the game. The first player to get all four pegs to finish the course at the center space wins the game.
As noted, there are many regional variations to this game. Be sure that all players agree on the rules to be followed before play begins!
Chowka Bhara normally has a 5x5 square board and four players, but one can also increase the number of squares to any odd number. In the larger games, the board size also determines the number of pieces each player uses. If you play on a 7x7 board each player uses 6 pieces; on a 9x9 board, each player gets 8, and on an 11x11 board each gets 10 pieces.
The 7x7 board is also used for the popular game Ashta-Kashte. As you might expect, there are other names for Ashta Kashte, too. It's called Koli kaDam in Hyderabad, or Champul in other parts of India. To further add to the confusion, the 7x7 game is also referred to sometimes as Ashta Chamma, which is also the Telugu name for Chowka Bhara.
Ashta Kashte is a very popular game and, with just a few variations, is played like Chowka Bhara. The players have 4 pieces each, and the path is a simple spiral around the board. Next in line for larger boards are Ashdapada, which means an 8x8 board, and Dasapada, which means a 10x10 board. Both of those are the subject of my video posted July of 2024:
And all of those are closely related to Pachisi, which is a video I have not produced yet.
I have tried to track down any early commercial productions of Chowka Bhara. I assumed that the Victorian British game companies might have introduced it in the 19th century as they did with other Indian pastimes such as Pachisi (patented in Britain in 1891 as Royal Ludo) and Moksha Patam (called Snakes & Ladders, first published in 1892). But I didn't find anything. I assume someone in India is making these games!
Our NewVenture Peg Pastimes version of Chowka Bhara will be included in our upcoming Kickstarter campaign! Follow the link here to our Kickstarter preview page and be sure to click the NOTIFY ME button.
Watch for more information here on the YouTube channel, plus our Facebook page, Instagram, and of course the NewVenture Newsletter. In 1960, game historian R. C. Bell published a description of a related game called Thayam or Dhayam. Of course, it also has several other names, specifically Dayakatti, which is also the name applied to the 4-sided long dice used in the game.