Parchís

How to play Parchís online

Choose 2, 3 or 4 players, type your name and press Play vs computer. Each player has four pieces in the nido, the nest in a coloured corner. On your turn tap your dice box (or press Space) to throw two dice. Each die is a separate move: pick a die, then tap the glowing piece you want to move with it. You may use both dice on one piece or one on each of two pieces, in either order. A die that cannot be used is lost.

The aim is to bring all four pieces round the 68-square circuit, up your own seven-square pasillo and onto the meta in the middle. The first player to put all four pieces on the meta wins. Switch Quick game off if you want to play on for second and third place.

• You need a 5 on one die to bring a piece out of the nest onto your salida.
• Move pieces clockwise by the numbers on the dice, one die per move.
• Capture a piece by landing exactly on it outside a seguro: you earn a 20 move.
• Bring a piece to the meta with the exact count: you earn a 10 move.
• Doubles roll again, but the third double in a row sends your last piece back to the nest.

Parchís rules: the board

The board is a cross with four long arms and a circuit of 68 squares running around it. The squares are numbered 1 to 68. Each player owns a nest in one corner, a salida (the start square, 5, 22, 39 or 56) and a pasillo of seven coloured squares that leads from the circuit to the meta, the goal at the centre. Pieces travel clockwise.

A piece leaves the nest onto its salida and then travels 64 squares of the circuit, ending on square 68 for the player whose salida is 5, before turning into its own pasillo. The pasillo is private: only your pieces can enter it and nothing can be captured there. From the last circuit square you need exactly 8 steps to reach the meta.

How do you leave the nest? The 5

A piece can only leave the nest when one of your dice shows a 5. The piece goes onto your salida. If you roll a 5 and have a piece in the nest, using it to bring a piece out is compulsory, so you cannot save the 5 for something else. Some families also allow two dice that add up to 5 (a 1 and a 4, or a 2 and a 3) to bring a piece out, but the standard rule used here is a 5 on one die.

A piece leaving the nest captures any opponent piece standing on your salida, even though the salida is a seguro. But you cannot leave if two of your own pieces already stand on the salida, because a square holds at most two pieces, and you cannot leave if an opponent's barrera is on it.

Barreras: how blockades work in Parchís

Two pieces of the same colour on one square form a barrera, a barrier. Nobody can pass a barrera or land on it, and that includes the owner's other pieces. No square can hold more than two pieces. A barrera on a seguro is especially strong, because the seguro already protects the pieces from capture and the barrera blocks the road.

There is a rule that stops barreras from lasting forever: if you roll doubles and you have a barrera, you must open it by moving one of its pieces, if a move is possible. Barreras are the main tactical weapon of the game. A well-placed barrera in front of an opponent's pieces can hold them for several turns, so you will often form a barrera when opponents are close behind you.

Seguros: the safe squares

There are twelve seguros: the four salidas and eight more squares that are marked on the board. A piece standing on a seguro cannot be captured, and two pieces of different colours can stand on the same seguro, but a third piece cannot land there. In our game the seguros are marked with a star. You can switch the safe squares off in the house rules if you want a rougher game.

Captures happen only on the circuit, never in the pasillo, and never on a seguro. If an opponent's single piece stands on an ordinary square and you land on it exactly, it goes back to its nest.

Bonus moves: 20 for a capture, 10 for the meta

Capturing a piece earns a bonus of 20 steps. Bringing a piece to the meta earns a bonus of 10 steps. A bonus is one move for one piece (any of your pieces that can make exactly that count, not necessarily the piece that earned it), and it is played like an extra die: it appears next to your dice and you can use it before or after the other die. If no piece can use the bonus exactly, it is lost.

Bonuses make captures very powerful and sometimes chain together: a 20 can carry a piece onto another opponent and capture again, which earns another 20. Since the pasillo and the meta require exact counts, a 20 or a 10 is hard to use close to home, so think about where a bonus can go before you take a capture.

Doubles and the three doubles penalty

Rolling doubles (two equal dice) gives you another roll after you have used both dice. If you roll doubles three times in a row, the third roll is cancelled and the piece you moved last goes back to the nest, unless it is already in the pasillo or on the meta. This keeps lucky streaks from running away. A six gives no extra roll in Parchís, unlike in Ludo and in Mensch ärgere dich nicht.

How many people can play Parchís?

Two to four. The computer takes any empty seats. With two players you can sit opposite each other or side by side. Online, up to three friends can join your room by link or room code, with chat and voice chat during the game, and a quick match button finds other players when you are alone. Press Invite friends, send the link on WhatsApp or copy it, and wait until everyone appears in the lobby. The host picks the rules and guests can see them before the game starts.

Parchís strategy: how to win

Start by getting pieces out. With a 5 you must bring a piece out anyway, and having two or three pieces on the board makes every roll useful. Keep one piece near the salida as a guard: it threatens opponents leaving the nest and protects your own salida.

Use barreras with intent. Build one just before an opponent's pieces arrive, ideally on a seguro, and keep it for as long as the doubles rule lets you. Do not build a barrera in front of your own pieces, because it blocks you too. Take captures when the 20 bonus has somewhere to go, and count the squares ahead of the capturing piece: a bonus that lands in front of an opponent's piece can be dangerous.

Play each die for a purpose: one to escape danger and one to advance another piece. Save small numbers for the pasillo and the exact count to the meta, and do not rush the last piece into the pasillo if its exact count is not in your dice. Against the Hard computer, expect it to take every worthwhile capture and to block you with barreras. It looks at what the next player could roll, so a cautious plan usually beats a reckless race.

Variants and house rules of Parchís

Parchís has many house versions. In our house rules you can switch barreras, the rule that doubles open them, seguros and safe salidas, the 20 and 10 bonuses, doubles rolling again, the three doubles penalty and sending the last piece home, the compulsory 5 and the capture on leaving the nest, play for places or end at the first winner, who starts, and a turn timer. The how to play button always shows the exact rules in force.

Parchís is part of the same family as Ludo, Mensch ärgere dich nicht and Petits chevaux. Compared with Ludo it uses two dice, a 5 to leave home and bonus moves. See our comparison of Ludo, Mensch ärgere dich nicht, Parchís and Petits chevaux for all the differences in one place.

Cómo jugar al parchís online: reglas en español

Jugar al parchís online gratis: aquí puedes jugar al parchís contra el ordenador o con amigos mediante un enlace, de 2 a 4 jugadores, sin descargar nada y sin registrarte. Cada jugador tiene cuatro fichas en su casa. Se tiran dos dados y cada dado es un movimiento distinto. Hace falta sacar un 5 para sacar una ficha de casa a la salida, y es obligatorio usarlo para eso. Las fichas recorren las 68 casillas del circuito, suben por el pasillo de siete casillas y llegan a la meta con el número exacto. Dos fichas del mismo color forman una barrera que nadie puede pasar. Los seguros protegen de las capturas. Comer una ficha da 20 movimientos y llegar a la meta da 10. Si sacas tres dobles seguidos, la última ficha movida vuelve a casa. Gana el primero que lleva sus cuatro fichas a la meta. Las reglas opcionales se cambian en las reglas de la casa.