Objective
Patolli is an ancient Mexican board game traditionally played with beans and a cross-shaped board. The objective of the game is to move all your pieces around the board and be the first to get all of them to the finish line by overtaking all your opponent's pieces and successfully getting your own into the home spaces.
Components
- A cross-shaped game board with marked spaces.
- Traditionally, beans or pebbles are used as dice substitutes, having flat and rounded sides.
- Game pieces, typically 5 per player in unique colors.
Setup
- Place the game board in the center of the table.
- Each player selects a color and takes the corresponding 5 game pieces.
- Players agree on who will start first.
Gameplay
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Throwing the Beans: Instead of dice, players use 5 beans. The number of beans showing a flat side up determines the number of spaces to move. For example, 0 flat sides might mean "move 6 spaces," and each additional flat bean reduces the movement by one.
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Moving the Pieces: A player moves one of their game pieces based on their throw along the cross path. Players must enter the board from a starting position with an exact throw (typically, a specific number like 1).
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Special Spaces: Landing on an opponent's piece sends that opponent back to the start.
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Safety Spaces: These are special spaces where pieces cannot be captured.
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Winning: The player who moves all their game pieces successfully around the board and into their finish space wins.
Strategic Tips
- Blocking: Attempt to block opponent pieces by occupying spaces they may land on with certain throws.
- Unpredictability: Use the unpredictability factor of throwing beans to your advantage to make your piece movements unpredictable.
Special Rules and Nuances
- An exact throw is often required to bring a piece into the home space or to send someone back to start.
- Some variations allow you to accumulate throws to combine moves.
Patolli is known for its blend of strategy and the role of luck through the throw, and was traditionally played during festive occasions, often accompanied by betting.
