Chaupar

Chaupar, also spelled chopad or chaupad and known as pagade in Kannada, is a cross and circle board game played in India that is closely related to pachisi. The board is traditionally made of wool or cloth marked into a cross shape, with wooden pawns moved around the arms of the cross, and the game is usually played by up to four players, though two-player and partner-team variants exist. Rather than dice, the traditional form of the game uses seven cowry shells thrown to determine each player's move, though some regional variants instead use three four-sided long dice, one of the features that distinguishes chaupar from pachisi in the eyes of some writers. Archaeological evidence for games resembling chaupar has been traced back to India's Iron Age Painted Grey Ware period, with finds from sites such as Mathura, making it one of the older continuously played traditional board games in the region, alongside its many regional variants.