1. Ashta Chamma is played on a 7-by-7 grid with an additional square on each edge, and a yellow square in the middle.

2. Ashta Chamma requires one die.

3. Each player selects 4 BEADs the colour of their choice. BEADS start off the board.

4. Players decide who begins the game by rolling a die.

5. Play always occurs in a clockwise direction.

1. Players must roll a 1 to move their BEAD onto their first square, the square off the grid on the side closest to the player. Rolls made before the first BEAD is placed on this square are forfeited.

2. Players continue to roll the die, noting every throw until either 2 or a 3 are rolled. This throw does not count and ends the throws.

3. Players can move any BEAD on the board. Each die roll must be used completely, but every throw in a turn can be used on a different BEAD. If more than one roll is used on the same BEAD, only the final stopping point counts.

4. BEADs move around the outside 28 squares of the track in a clockwise direction until the BEAD has completed a full circuit. The BEAD then moves inwards and must complete a 20-square circuit before finally moving onto the final 12-square inner track.

5. Once the inner track has been completed and the BEAD is in line with their starting point the BEAD can move onto the final square in the middle of the board and is then removed from play.

6. Players require an exact roll to land on the middle of the board.

7. A player can have more than 1 BEAD on the same square.

8. If a player lands on a square with an opponent’s BEAD, the opponent’s BEAD is cut from the board and the player must roll a 1 to start the BEAD again.

9. When a player cuts one of their opponent’s BEADs, their turn starts again with rolling of the die.

10. 8 squares are marked with an X, these are safe and a BEAD on these squares cannot be cut. These squares can be shared by multiple players simultaneously.

To win the game, a player must be the first to move all their BEADs around the board.

1. The game of Chowka Bhara is one of the oldest board games still being played in certain parts of India. There are references of this game in some ancient Indian epics like the Mahabharata.

2. This game has been traditionally played on a silk cloth-lined board and with 4 cowry shells used in the place of dice.