But if I put all the rules down here, this will turn into a super lengthy post. The rules of the game are very much similar to Ludo, with a few differences. Just that every person’s player should be different. Each person gets four players and the players can be anything from buttons to beads to seeds. The arrows indicate the movement of the players. This is the board I made using a mount board, a pencil, a ruler, and some crayons. 2 means 4 or Changa, One face up as in figure 3 means 1 or Pe, three faces and two faces up mean 3 and 2 respectively. All faces up, as in fig 1, means 8 or Ashta. (Face up is broken side up, and face down is intact shell up) The above is the illustration of how tamarind seeds may fall. When a person throws the four pieces of tamarind seeds, there can be 5 number of outcomes based on how many fall face up and how many face down.

In different parts of India the game would be played slightly differently, and therefore it has been known in different names such as: Ashta Chamma – Andhra Pradesh Katte/Gatte Mane – Mysore Daayam or Thaayam – Tamil Nadu Kavidi Kali – Kerala Ashta Changa Pe – Maharashtra The game is a game of chance. At its simplest, the game would be played to improve eye-to-eye coordination in kids, and in it’s more complex form, it would teach youngsters the vital skills of war tactics and strategy making and implementing. Ashta Changa Pe is one of the oldest games of India played during the era of Kings and Royalties.

I don’t know if anyone of you has heard of the game Ashta Changa Pe? Let me give you a little background.

Ashta chamma game 16