Which of the following was an ancient Indian board game?

Chaupar (also called Chausar or Chopad) is an ancient Indian board game played on a cross-shaped board. It is closely related to Pachisi, and the modern game Ludo was developed from these games.

How Chaupar is played:

• The board is shaped like a cross (or plus sign), usually made of cloth, with four arms, each divided into three columns of eight squares.
• It is played by two to four players, each with four pieces of a different colour.
• Instead of modern dice, players traditionally throw long rectangular dice (pasa) or cowrie shells to decide how many squares to move.
• The aim is to move all one's pieces around the board and back to the centre (home) before the opponents.

History and legends:

A game of dice played on a similar board is described in the Mahabharata, in which Yudhishthira lost his kingdom, his brothers and Draupadi to the Kauravas, with Shakuni throwing the dice.

The Mughal Emperor Akbar was very fond of Pachisi. At Fatehpur Sikri, there is a large courtyard marked as a Pachisi board, where it is said Akbar played using slave girls as living pieces.

Chaupar boards and pieces have been found in many historical sites and paintings, including Rajput and Mughal miniatures.

Games that came from India:

• Chaturanga: the ancestor of chess.
• Pachisi and Chaupar: the ancestors of Ludo, which was patented in England in 1896.

Moksha Patam (Gyan Chaupar): the ancestor of Snakes and Ladders. It was used to teach moral values: ladders stood for virtues and snakes for vices.

Ganjifa: a card game with circular painted cards, introduced in India by the Mughals.

Pallanguzhi: a mancala (seed-sowing) game of South India.

Why not the other options?

• ✗Checkers (draughts) developed in Europe.
• ✗Backgammon developed from ancient games of the Middle East (such as the Persian "nard").
• ✗Go is an ancient board game from China.