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THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



color, to distinguish them. If only two play, each will manoeuvre two 

 sets of men. Each player's men start one by one down the middle row of 



his own rectangle, beginning 

 with the square next the cen- 

 tral space, and thence they pro- 

 ceed all round the outside rows 

 of the board, traveling from right 

 to left (contrary to the sun) till 

 they get back to their own cen- 

 tral row, and up it home to 

 where they started from, he who 

 first gets all his men home win- 

 ning the game. A solitary man is 

 taken up and sent back to begin 

 again, by one of his adversary's 

 men lighting upon his square, 

 except in the case of the twelve 

 privileged squares, which are marked with a cross, in which case the 

 overtaking piece can not move. The moving is determined by throwing 

 a number of cowries, -which count according to how many fall mouth 

 up ; thus, if six cowries are used : 



According to the rules kindly sent me from Dr. Rajendralala Mitra, of 

 Calcutta, the throws of one-up or five-up {das or pachisi) alone can 

 start a man on his first square, or get him oiF if stuck on his last square. 

 These throws, as well as none-up and six-up, give a new throw. Thus 

 the best beginnings are one-up followed by two-up, or five-up followed 

 by four-up, either of which enters a man and carries him on in safety 

 into a " fort.'' Seven cowries can also be used, but the primitive game 

 was probably more like the ancient game with five cowries just men- 

 tioned, for the name pachisi means " five-and-twenty," and was no 

 doubt taken from the throw when five shells come up. The principles 

 of counting the throws and entering the men are plainly like those in 

 the Arab game of tab, and there are Indian forms with only four cow- 

 ries which come still closer. 



Pachisi is a favorite game in India, and an eager player will carry 

 rolled round in his turban the cloth which serves as a board, so as to be 

 ready for a game at any moment. These cloths, when embroidered 

 with the diagram in colored silk, are quite artistic objects, and one does 

 not often see prettier toys than a set of men in Mr. Franks's collection, 

 little cones (or rather sugar-loaves) of rock crystal, with the colors 

 they are to bear in the game shown by mounting in the top a ruby for 

 red, an emerald for green, etc. There are even stories of yet more 



