Pieces for the board game of pachisi, 'the national game of India', come in a variety of shapes and materials, including wood, lacquer, ivory and more precious materials such as gold set with gems. Each of the four players plays with a group of four pieces, differentiated here by the colours of the stones: red, green, blue and yellow. Gaming pieces of this type were also used for other board games such as chaupur and chausar, which are chiefly played with oblong dice on a cross-shaped board.
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