Guest Author - Megan Romer

Chaturanga is the oldest known form of chess. It dates back to India in the seventh century A.D. Front Porch classics has carefully re-created this game and it is now available to everyone!

The game itself is beautiful. It is played on a fabric playing board (all games were once played on fabric, it's extremely portable and cheap, and cardboard wasn't even invented until the late 1800's!). Unlike chess, the game can be played with two to four players. Each player gets 8 playing pieces, made of clay: A Raja, an elephant, a horse (cavalry), a ship and four infantrymen. These pieces are kept in beautiful velvet bags. Each piece does have a loose equivalent in modern chess.

The Raja is the most important piece, much like the king. The elephant acts much like the rook. The ship is the bishop, and you cannot capture a Raja with the ship. The Cavalry moves exactly like a knight. The infantry, which in this game look kind of like tiny Buddhas in lotus position, are like the pawns. The big difference between Chaturanga and chess is that Chaturanga is played with a four-sided die (it's a long rectangle, instead of a perfectly square cube). The die tells you which piece you have to move.

The game is somewhat easier to learn than chess, but easily as much fun. The game can and should be used by teachers and parents to introduce their children to the history and culture of India. The rulebook includes lots of interesting information about India as well as about the history of the game.

The game comes in a convenient Bookshelf Edition, where the game is kept in a beautiful book-shaped box that looks great on any bookshelf or coffee table.

CHATURANGA AT-A-GLANCE:

GAME BOX INCLUDES: Fabric game board, 2 four-sided dice, Each of the following in four colors (blue, red, green, tan): Velvet game piece bag, 1 Raja, 1 Elephant, 1 Ship, 1 Cavalry, 4 Infantry.

YOU'LL NEED: Nothing

SUGGESTED RETAIL PRICE: $49.99

TRY IF YOU LIKE: Chess, other Abstract Games

PERFECT FOR: Chess fans, history buffs, people who appreciate high-quality games.

RATING: Five Rupees out of Five