Bagh-Chal
Bagh-Chal comes from Nepal, and it pits two very different armies against each other on a small grid of lines. One player controls four tigers parked on the corners. The other has twenty goats that are not even on the board yet.
The tigers are hunting: five goats taken means a tiger win. The goats cannot hurt anyone, so they win by surrounding the tigers until no tiger can move. Everything runs in a regular browser tab, and you can play a friend on one screen or the computer on Easy, Medium or Hard.
How to play Bagh-Chal
Play starts with a placement stage. On each goat turn, one new goat goes onto any empty point. The tigers are active from the very first turn, moving or capturing while the goats keep arriving, until all twenty goats are down.
After that, every turn is a slide. A piece moves one step along a drawn line to an open neighboring point. All points link horizontally and vertically, but only some have diagonal lines, so trace the board before you plan a slanted move.
A tiger captures by leaping over an adjacent goat in a straight line to the empty point on the far side, and that goat is gone. Tigers may skip a capture if they like. If the player whose turn it is has no legal move, that player loses. A counter below the board tracks goats placed and goats taken.
Controls
| Action | Keyboard | Mouse | Touch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place a goat | Arrow keys to a point, Enter | Click an empty point | Tap an empty point |
| Slide or capture | Arrow keys and Enter on the piece, then on the destination | Click a piece, then its destination | Tap a piece, then its destination |
| Play the computer | — | vs Computer, choose a side and level, then New game | vs Computer, choose a side and level, then New game |
| Take back | — | Click Undo | Tap Undo |
| Highlight movable pieces | — | Switch on move suggestions in Settings | Switch on move suggestions in Settings |
Tips
- As the goats, start along the outer border. Nothing can jump a goat from off the board, so the edges are the safest place to build.
- A goat beside a tiger is only at risk when the point behind it is open. Before ending a turn, check every tiger for an empty landing spot.
- Goat players should try to split the tigers up. Two tigers next to each other keep escape routes open for one another.
- Tigers love the middle point, which touches eight lines. From there a tiger threatens the most goats at once.
- If you take the tigers, push hard while goats are still being placed. Once all twenty are down and packed tight, captures get much rarer.
If you like Bagh-Chal, try these
Fox and GeeseThe same hunter-versus-herd idea on a cross-shaped board, where thirteen geese try to trap a single jumping fox.
HnefataflUneven sides again: a Viking king runs for a corner while a larger attacking force tries to box him in.
Questions
Is it better to play tigers or goats in Bagh-Chal?
Neither side is automatically stronger, but they feel very different. Tigers are easier for beginners because they can attack right away, while goats reward patient, careful play.
Can I play Bagh-Chal on my phone?
Yes. The board fits a portrait screen and every move works with taps, so a phone or tablet is fine.
How do the goats win Bagh-Chal?
The goats win when it is the tigers' turn and none of the four tigers has a legal slide or jump. That usually means filling the points around them without leaving any gap a tiger could leap into.
More like this: all board & card games · 2-player games · every game A–Z
