Bagh Chal

The traditional Nepalese game <Bagh Chal> – A piece of culture and history for your home or for travelling.

Immerse yourself in the fascinating world of Nepalese traditions with this unique board game. It has been played in Nepal, Tibet and India for centuries and has not only an entertaining but also a deeply cultural significance.

By purchasing this game, you are not only helping to preserve a valuable piece of culture from the Himalayan region, but also supporting the social projects of Nepalmed e.V..

Bagh Chal is particularly easy to learn and encourages strategic thinking, tactics and forward planning in children and adults. The aim of the game is for the tigers to catch or eat at least four goats, while the goats try to block the tigers so that the tigers can no longer move.

• Game type: asymmetrical strategy game, brain game, connoisseur game, classic board game
• Target group: from the age of 12, ideal for the family at home or when travelling, or for Tibet/Nepal enthusiasts
• AgeAlter: approx. from 12 years
• Player: 2
• Duration: 20 – 40 minutes
• Aim of the game: For the tiger player: to eat at least 4 goats. For the goat player: to immobilise all the tigers.
• Accessories: 20 goats (plus 1 spare goat), 4 tigers (plus 1 spare tiger), playing field made of reused goatskin (playing field also serves as a transport bag), game is largely handmade and is therefore unique.

Kids playing Bagh Chal in front of a temple in Kathmandu.

Background of the game: Bagh Chal (English ‘tiger and goat’, Nepalese बाघ चाल for ‘tiger movement’), is also called ‘tiger and goat’. It is a traditional board game from the Himalayan region (Nepal, India, Tibet and other regions of China). Bagh Chal is the national game of Nepal and was probably invented by goat herders in the Himalayas, as the theme of the game is about a fight familiar to them from everyday life. Tigers try to snatch a herd of goats and the shepherds have to protect them as best they can. The game works on an asymmetrical game principle with two different roles: The task of the tiger family of four is to chase and ‘eat’ the goats. The task of the herd of twenty goats is to surround the tigers and restrict their movement. The aim is either to beat the goats (e.g. if 4 goats are eaten, the tiger wins) or to block the tigers’ freedom of movement (goats win when all 4 tigers are surrounded in such a way that the tigers can no longer move). In an asymmetrical strategy game, the starting conditions for the players are not the same, as in draughts or chess, for example, but different. The rules of the game are similar to the medieval game ‘Fox and Geese’. Bagn Chal used to be known to every child in the Himalayan region. However, with the advent of technical devices, Bagh Chal has been played less and less in recent years.

Experience the wisdom and beauty of the game Bagh Chal – a game that is more than just entertainment. It is a connection between past and future, between culture and community.

Tipp: The goatherd has a slight strategic advantage over the tiger. Therefore, if there are two unequal players, the less experienced player should play the goatherd!

Rules of the game in detail: Manual download

Tiger tugs

1. Ziegen können von Anfang an übersprungen/gefressen werden.
2. Only one goat can be jumped over/eaten in each turn (no chain jumps).
3. The jump over a goat must be straight (no jumps over corners).
4. Tigers cannot jump over/eat each other.

Goat pulls

1. Goats are immediately removed from the playing field and do not return after being jumped over/eaten.
2. Goats cannot jump.
3. Goats can move across the connecting lines to any available free point once all goats have been placed on the playing field.

General

1. After all 20 goats have been placed, repetitions of the following field situations are not permitted for goats and tigers. A repetition would occur as soon as the constellation of pieces is the same and the same player has the same move in the same constellation.
2. The players can agree on the target number of goats that must be caught (usually four) in order to win.

Possible game variants:

1. Tigers are not allowed to jump backwards. Tigers may only jump forwards or sideways. With players of different strengths, this rule balances out the strengths in favour of the goat player.
2. Compulsory jumping for tigers – Every opportunity to eat a goat must be utilised. In the form of the Bagh Chal, the tiger must always eat the goat if it has the opportunity to do so.
3. Retreat not allowed: The following applies to both players: a pawn may never move back to the point where it was on the player’s previous turn. It is advisable that this agreement only applies once all goats have been set. You can also specify that this rule does not apply if a backward jump leads to a goat being eaten.