Ashta Chamma: Online Ashta Chamma with Friends
Four cowrie shells, a chalked board, and a long walk to the middle. Land on someone and they start again.
Strategy · 2 to 4 players · about 30 minutes · free to host, nothing to download, TV optional
About the game
Long before plastic dice, south Indian families played this race on a chalked floor with four cowrie shells. Ashta Chamma brings it to 2 to 4 players in about 30 minutes, and it shines with three or four, when the outer ring gets crowded and captures come thick and fast.
Show the board on the TV for the room, or pick "Just this screen" so the board and your shells sit on your own device. Family in another city can join from a video call the same way.
How to play
- Throw four cowries: mouths up is the count, all four face down is eight. A four brings one piece onto your gate, an eight brings two, and both throw again.
- Walk the outer ring and come back round towards your gate. You turn inward only after you have sent someone back; until then your pieces keep circling. The middle needs an exact count. A third four or eight in a row loses the turn, and nobody throws more than six times in one turn.
- A crossed square is safe. Anywhere else, land on a piece and it starts again, and you throw again. First to get every piece home wins.
Open a room for Ashta Chamma. No app, no accounts, free to host.
Tips to play well
- Twos are the most common throw, then ones and threes. Fours and eights each turn up only about once in sixteen throws, so do not wait on them: get pieces out when you can.
- Nine squares are chalked safe: the four gates, the four corners of the ring just inside them, and the middle. Park on them when a rival is close behind.
- Chase a capture early. Until you have sent someone back, your pieces cannot leave the outer ring, however far they have walked.
- On the big board the walk is twice as long, 48 steps against 24, so a single capture costs a rival far more.
Host settings
- Board: Five across (the quick default) or seven across, the long walk.
- Pieces each: 2 to 4, 4 by default. Every piece has to reach the middle.
- Seconds a turn: 10 to 60 in steps of 5, 20 by default. Run out and the cowries throw themselves.
Questions people ask
How is Ashta Chamma different from Ludo?
Both are races home where landing on a rival sends them back. Ashta Chamma uses four cowries instead of a die, a square board you spiral into, and fours and eights to bring pieces out.
Can I play with the computer?
Yes. The host can add computer players, which always take a capture when they can.
Is it free to play?
Yes. Hosting is free, and guests join with a four letter code without paying or signing up.
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Guides
- How to Play Ludo: Full Rules, House Rules, Strategy and Where to Play Online With Friends: Ludo rules from setup to the last token home, the house rules families argue about, real strategy, and free ways to play Ludo online with friends.
- Diwali Party Games 2026: 26 Ideas for Family, Card Parties, Kids, Office and Online: 26 Diwali party games for 2026: family classics, card party games with play chips, kids games, office ideas and online games, with ready-made prompts.
- Game Night Games: 60 of the Best, Picked by Group Size, Crowd and Time: The best game night games for 2 to 20 people, sorted by group size, crowd, place and time, with players, minutes and what you need for each.