Asian Leopard games v1.0

created November 2005
by Mats Winther

Introduction

Leopard games are traditional games from Asia with a long history. These are quite attractive hunt-games which are played on triangular boards. The Tiger side plays with one or several Tiger pieces. The White side plays with 5-15 Leopards (also known as 'dogs' or 'lambs'). The Leopards must all be dropped before they are moved. Pieces move by sliding along a line to an adjacent vacant point. The Tiger may also capture a Leopard by jumping over it as in checkers, but only a single Leopard may be taken each turn. Capture is not mandatory. The Leopards win if the Tiger(s) are immobilized so they(he) can't move. The Tiger wins if he reduces the Leopards to zero, four, or eight, depending on variant.



Discussion

Murray (1952) categorizes this form of hunt-game as Leopard games. They are played on triangular boards and sometimes the pieces are called 'leopards,' sometimes 'lambs' or 'dogs.' The capturing piece is always called 'tiger.' Pieces are often said to be 'chopped' when captured.

Pulijudam (Hindustani), 'the tiger game' (above), is a popular game played in all parts of India. It is definitely not easy. Perhaps some positions are unsolvable for the Leopards, but generally they win. The Tiger side plays with 3 Tiger pieces, initially positioned as in the above image. The white side plays with 15 Leopards (also known as 'lambs'). The Leopards must all be dropped on the board, one by one, before they are moved. Pieces move by sliding along a line to an adjacent vacant point. The Tiger may also kill a Leopard by jumping over it as in checkers, but only a single Leopard may be taken each turn. The Leopards win if the Tiger is immobilized so he can't move. The Tiger wins if he reduces the Leopards to 8.

Len choa (below) originates from Thailand and is a simple game of which I provide two versions: one with 6 Leopards and one with 5 Leopards. As extant single-Tiger Leopard games are somewhat easy I provide two additional single-Tiger Leopard games that I've invented myself and that are tougher nuts to crack.

Demala diviyan keliya, 'the Tamil leopards game' (below) derives from Sri Lanka. In India it is called Rafãya. It is easier than Pulijudam. The game is described by Parker (1909). The rules are the same as Pulijudam. Note that Murray, who uses Parker as only source, gives an erroneous account of the board diagram for this game. He misunderstands it as a form of Pulijudam board with extended arms. This does not work; I've tested it. The correct version works quite well, however.

References

Parker, H. (1909). Ancient Ceylon - An Account of the Aborigines and of Part of the Early Civilisation. London: Luzac & Co. Publishers.

Murray, HJR (1952). A History of Board-Games other than Chess', 1952. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

To play you must have installed "Zillions of Games".
Either double-click on Asian_Leopard_games.zrf
or
1. Run "Zillions of Games"
2. Choose "Open Game Rules..." from the File menu
3. Select " Asian_Leopard_games.zrf" in the Open dialog and click "Open"

Asian_Leopard_games.zrf is a rules file used by the Windows program "Zillions of Games". Zillions of Games allows you to play any number of games against the computer or over the Internet. Zillions of Games can be purchased online. For more information please visit the Zillions of Games website www.zillions-of-games.com