Introduction

The Pachisi Board Game

achisi is a board game that originated in ancient India.

It consists of a cross-shaped board which was originally made out of cloth and was played with cowrie shells(the modern version uses dice). The most notable mention of Pachisi in Indian history is in Mahabharata where it was referred to as “Pasha”. The game can be played by 2-4 players each of which have an objective to move all of their pieces to a designated position. Each player has 4 pieces of a particular colour which start and end at the same place following the counter-clockwise path around the board. Each player gets their turn alternatively where they roll dice to determine their allowed move. The first player move all their pieces to finish is the winner.

Pachisi or Pasha is richly embedded in the Indian culture and has inspired many board games such as Ludo, Parchis and others throughout the world.

Our Project

In our project we have tried to modernise certain parts of the game such that it appeals to people of all age and in general makes the game attractive. But we have also been very careful about keeping the original flavour and ethnicity of the game intact. Cost efficiency was one of the major concern while doing this project. A bit of market research was done to check the costs of similar of board games and how we can optimise the cost of the total project. The project is made with biodegradable and environment friendly materials. The traditional system of dice rolling is digitised with the help of a screen and buttons which makes the game more engaging.

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Benefits

Coordination and Communication

Board games are multiplayer games and as with all multiplayer games, it needs real time communication and coordination to win. A strategy is very key to win in a board game and since you are playing against a human you need to adapt to the opposition’s moves to succeed. For young kids, playing such games develops their capability of thinking on the fly and decision making. Since it is a physical game there is almost zero fatigue to the eyes of the player which is caused by video games.

Adaptation to Digital Systems

Appealing to People of All Ages

Our project consists of a screen and some buttons which is used to emulate the process of dice throwing digitally. This helps kids adapt to digital systems and makes them understand how to interact to one. Also people of all age will find this new way of interacting with the dice engaging and hence this increases the fun factor.

The Pachisi is a multiplayer game and hence it is ideal for bringing family members closer for a wholesome and enjoyable time together. Board games appeal to each and everyone of the general mass and is easy to understand and play for everyone.

Influence of Indian Culture

Pasha-A Game Embedded in our Traditions

The game of Pasha was one of the most important reasons which caused the great Mahabharata war and which further led to the creation of the Holy Bhagavad Gita. Hence it is deeply connected to the Indian tradition and culture.

One aim of ours is to remind people how Pasha is important in the history of board games and the history of India and how it has inspired many board games both nationally and internationally.

The game has lost his reputation throughout history due to the creation of games such as Ludo and Carrom.

We hope we can restore this game in the hearts of people through our project.