Patolli
A free game from Ancient.Games · no wagering, no account
Patolli
The Aztec race game, played on a cross of fifty-two squares.
Five beans for dice, and no lead is ever safe.
Fifty-two squares, one circuit each. Toss the beans and we'll see who the road favours.
Toss the beans to begin.
The real one is a live-edge wood slice.
Thirteen inches across with the bark still on it, the track UV-printed in full colour on the front and an Aztec motif laser-engraved on the back, so it hangs on a wall when you're not playing. Stone bead pieces and a drawstring bag, made in the shop in Voorhees.
How it works
Five beans are the dice. Each is marked on one face — toss them and count the marks. That's how far you move. All five blank means you've lost the turn.
You enter from one end of the cross and travel the whole circuit of fifty-two squares. Get all three beads round and home and you've won.
Land on a square holding one of Citlali's beads and it goes back to the start. She'll do the same to you, which is why a big lead means nothing here.
The four squares at the tips of the arms are safe ground. Nothing is captured there, and landing on one earns you another toss.
Toss all five marks and you also go again. Historically players bet blankets and beans on the outcome. We're not doing that.
Ancient Games · handmade historical boards · ancient.games