Chaturaji: Rules and How to Play
Chaturaji means four kings: rule an ancient Indian army, move only pieces allowed by two dice and collect captured points. Keep your king and take all three other kings to win with 54 points.
Objective
Chaturaji means four kings: rule an ancient Indian army, move only pieces allowed by two dice and collect captured points. Keep your king and take all three other kings to win with 54 points.
Setup
- Four armies of eight pieces share an 8×8 board: Red ● bottom, Blue ▲ left, Yellow ■ top, Green ◆ right.
- Each army has a King, Elephant, Horse, Boat and four Pawns. Turns move clockwise.
How to play
- Roll two dice together: 1/5 allow Pawn or King, 2 Boat, 3 Horse and 4/6 Elephant. Each die allows one move, in either order.
- Elephants slide any distance vertically/horizontally (not over pieces), Horses jump in an L (two and one), Boats jump two diagonally, and Kings step one square in any direction. Pawns move one square along their arrow and capture diagonally forward.
- Captures give Pawn 1, Boat 2, Horse 3, Elephant 4, King 5 points. An army continues after its king is captured. Captured pieces never return to the board.
- Pawns reaching the far edge become the piece type marked ↟ there, by default only when that type is missing from their army.
- A moved boat completing four differently owned boats in a 2×2 square takes the other three for six points. Unplayable dice are discarded, and if neither can move the turn ends.
Winning and scoring
- Keep your king and personally take a king from each of the other three seats: Chaturaji ends the game immediately with 54 points, or your higher existing score.
- The game also ends with at most one army retaining a king, 12 captureless rounds, the round limit, or three resignations. Rank by points, surviving kings, then remaining material; exact ties share a place.
Defaults on this site
| Item | Default on this site |
|---|---|
| Players | 4 players (set automatically by the party size) |
| Turn time limit | None by default (the host can set 30 or 60 seconds) |
| If someone drops mid-game | Reopening on the same device returns you to your seat. If you do not return, the CPU plays in your place. |
| Draws | In ranked play, a draw counts as halfway between a win and a loss for your rating. |
| Source of the rules | Based on the standard reference rules |
Rules supervised by Qdan, Inc. (based on the standard reference rules)
House rules
Defaults follow the standard reference rules. The party can change these.
| Name | Description | Default | Changeable |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dice | Cubic dice favor pawns/kings and elephants. Long dice give each class an equal chance, displayed using the shared six-faced artwork with faces 2–5. | Cubic (1/5 Pawn or King; 4/6 Elephant) | Changeable |
| Promotion | Pawns reaching the far edge become Boat, Horse, Elephant, King, King, Elephant, Horse, Boat from one corner to the other. By default they wait until that piece type is missing from their army. Always removes the condition, but king squares stay pawns. | Only a lost piece | Changeable |
| Boat triumph | A moved boat completing a 2×2 square of four differently owned boats captures the other three. It gains six points; two boats from the same seat do not qualify. | On | Changeable |
| Throne points | A king entering an opponent’s original king square gains five points. Each seat scores each throne once, in addition to points from a captured king. | Off | Changeable |
| Using dice | By default you may end your turn without using playable dice. The other option requires every playable die to be used. | May leave dice unused | Changeable |
| Round limit | Four completed turns make one round. At the limit, points, surviving kings and remaining material determine the ranking. Time estimates for human play are provisional. | 30 (about 20–30 minutes) | Changeable |
| First seat next game | The first player moves one seat clockwise in each new game. Fixed keeps the same first player. | Rotate | Changeable |
Terms
- Round
- Four completed turns.
- Die face
- The number determines which piece class can move.
- Promotion
- An edge pawn becomes a different type.
- Throne
- An original king square; optional five points for entry.
FAQ
Which pieces match each face?
1/5 allow Pawn or King, 2 Boat, 3 Horse, and 4/6 Elephant. Each die grants one move, in either order. Long dice show 2–5.
What happens after taking three kings?
Keep your own king and personally capture a king from each of the other three seats for Chaturaji. The game ends immediately and your score becomes 54, or stays higher if it already exceeds 54.
When does a pawn at the far edge change?
By default it changes at the end of a move when its destination’s piece type is absent from its own army. Until then it remains a pawn and waits.
Can an unusable die be rolled again?
Leave it unused; its face and reason remain visible. If neither die is playable the turn passes. By default you may also end your turn with playable dice left.
Play now with these rules
Last updated 2026-10-07 · Run by Qdan, Inc.