Ancient race game · Karnataka & beyondChowka Bara
The 5-house race
Grandmothers' courtyards, tamarind seeds, and four cowrie shells. Chowka Bara has been the family battleground of South India for centuries — easy to start, ruthless to master.
4 kaayis each. One goal: race all four home to the centre before anyone else.
Live demo
P1P2P3P4✕ Ghatta
Start: each player has 4 kaayis stacked on their home ghatta (✕ marks)
The battlefield25 houses. 5 are sacred.
Your four kaayis start stacked on your home square and travel the outer ring, then spiral through the inner ring to the centre.
The ✕-marked houses are ghattas — safe squares. No kaayi can ever be struck while standing on one.
Shelters
5 ghattas — your shelters
Finish
Centre house c3 — the finish