Parchís rules and strategy: barreras, seguros and bonus moves

01What Parchís is

Parchís is the Spanish and Latin American relative of Ludo. Four players race four pieces each round a circuit and up into a goal in the middle, using two dice. Parchís is the generic Spanish name of the game and it is derived from the Indian race game Pachisi, like Ludo, Mensch ärgere dich nicht and Petits chevaux. It is played in Spain on a board with four arms and a circuit of 68 squares, and many families have strong opinions about the small rules, so you will meet variants.

Compared with Ludo it is a more tactical game: two dice give you choices on every turn, barreras let you block the road, there are twelve safe squares called seguros, and captures and arrivals earn big bonus moves. You can play it in our free Parchís game against the computer, on one screen or online with friends.

02The board: 68 squares, the salidas and the pasillo

The circuit has 68 squares, numbered 1 to 68. Each player owns a nido (the nest, where the pieces wait in a corner), a salida (the start square, number 5, 22, 39 or 56) and a pasillo, a lane of seven coloured squares that leads to the meta, the goal in the centre. Pieces travel clockwise.

A piece leaves the nest onto its salida and travels 64 squares of the circuit, finishing on square 68 for the player whose salida is 5, and then turns off into its pasillo. The pasillo and the meta are private, so nothing is captured there. From the last circuit square you need exactly 8 steps to reach the meta.

03Two dice, one move per die

You throw two dice. Each die is a separate move: pick a die and then the piece that will use it. You can use both on one piece, one on each of two pieces, in either order. If a die cannot be used by any piece it is lost. This is why choices matter more than in the one-die games: you can use one die to escape danger and the other to build something.

Moves are made one die at a time, so what happens along the way is decided at the end of each die: a capture, a barrera in the way or a seguro all count when the first die ends. Bonus moves (see below) are played as extra dice.

04Leaving the nest with a 5

A piece leaves the nest only with a 5 on one die. If you throw a 5 and have a piece in the nest, you must use it for that. The piece goes onto your salida and captures any opponent piece standing there, even though a salida is a seguro. If two of your own pieces are already on the salida, you cannot bring a third out, because a square holds at most two pieces. Some families allow two dice that add up to 5 to bring a piece out as well, but we play the standard rule: a 5 on one die.

05Barreras

Two pieces of the same colour on one square make a barrera. Nobody can pass it or land on it, including the owner's other pieces. A square never holds more than two pieces. Barreras are the main way to hold back a runaway opponent, and a barrera on a seguro is very hard to dislodge.

To stop barreras from lasting forever, doubles force you to break one: if you throw doubles and have a barrera, you must move one of its pieces when you can. Planning around that rule is part of the game, because a barrera that you hoped to keep for three turns may have to be opened by a lucky double.

06Seguros, captures and the 20 bonus

There are twelve seguros: the four salidas and eight more marked squares. A piece on a seguro cannot be captured, and two pieces of different colours can share one, but no more than two. Everywhere else on the circuit, a single piece is captured when an opponent lands on it exactly. The captured piece goes back to its nest.

The capturing player gets a bonus move of 20 steps. It is a single move for one of your pieces (not necessarily the capturing one) that can make exactly that count, played like an extra die. If no piece can use it, the bonus is lost. Because a 20 is so far, it can carry a piece past or onto others, including another capture, which gives another 20.

07The meta, the 10 bonus and three doubles

Bringing a piece to the meta needs the exact count: from the last circuit square it is exactly 8 steps, and a die or bonus that would go beyond cannot be used by that piece. Reaching the meta earns a bonus move of 10 steps. The first player with all four pieces on the meta wins.

Doubles give you another throw. If you throw doubles three times in a row, the third throw is cancelled and the piece you moved last goes back to the nest, unless it is already in the pasillo or on the meta. A 6 gives no extra throw in Parchís, unlike in Ludo.

08Parchís strategy

Get pieces out early. When you throw a 5 you must bring one out anyway, and having two or three pieces on the board turns every pair of dice into a real choice. Keep one piece on or near your salida as a guard: it threatens opponents who come out and protects your own entry.

Use the two dice together. A common pattern is to use one die to move a threatened piece to safety, perhaps onto a seguro, and the other to advance a second piece. Think about the bonus before capturing: a 20 that lands in front of an opponent's piece or cannot be used wastes the capture's value. Count the squares between your pieces and the opponent's pieces behind them, because the two dice together can reach up to 12 squares, and a bonus can reach further.

Keep a barrera where it hurts. Block an opponent who is about to reach home, and open your own barrera yourself on your terms rather than being forced by a double. Do not rush a piece into the pasillo if you do not have the exact count in sight, because the last steps can take many turns. Against the Hard computer, expect it to take every worthwhile capture and to make barreras. It looks at what the next player could roll, so a patient plan wins more often than a rush.

09House rules and online play

In the house rules you can switch barreras and the rule that doubles open them, seguros and safe salidas, the 20 and 10 bonuses, doubles throwing again, the three doubles penalty, the compulsory 5 and the capture on leaving the nest, end at the first winner or play on for places, pick who starts and add a turn timer. Two to four can play and the computer fills empty seats.

To play with friends press Invite friends, send the link on WhatsApp or copy it and wait in the lobby. Up to three friends can join without installing anything, and chat and voice chat are available. For the differences from Ludo and the other games, read Ludo vs Mensch ärgere dich nicht vs Parchís vs Petits chevaux, the Ludo rules and our Ludo strategy guide.

10Las reglas del parchís en breve

Cada jugador tiene cuatro fichas en su casa. Se tiran dos dados y cada dado es un movimiento. Con un 5 en un dado se saca una ficha a la salida. 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. Tres dobles seguidos mandan a casa la última ficha movida. Las fichas suben por el pasillo y llegan a la meta con el número exacto. Gana el primero con sus cuatro fichas en la meta. Puedes jugar gratis en línea contra el ordenador o con amigos.