Play Bagh-Chal Online — Tigers and Goats Strategy Game

Bagh-Chal on Arcadia

Bagh-Chal — “moving tigers” in Nepali — is the national board game of Nepal, an asymmetric duel played on a 5×5 grid of points. You command 20 goats against 4 tigers driven by the computer. It is a pure hunt game: the tigers try to feast, the goats try to smother. No dice, no luck — just position.

How to Play

The four tigers begin on the four corners; the board is otherwise empty.
Placement phase: on each of your turns, drop one goat on any empty point. Between your drops, the tigers move.
Once all 20 goats are placed, you switch to moving goats one step along a marked line to an adjacent empty point.
Tigers move one step along a line, or capture by leaping in a straight line over a single adjacent goat into the empty point beyond.
Tigers win by eating 5 goats. Goats win by blocking every tiger so none can move.

Core Rules

5×5 point board (25 points) with orthogonal lines everywhere and diagonals on the even points.
Tigers can leap and capture goats at any time once they are on the board — including during the placement phase — so never drop a goat where a tiger can jump it.
A tiger must have an empty landing point directly beyond the goat to jump; a goat backed by another piece (or with no empty landing beyond) cannot be jumped.
Goats never leap and never capture — they win only by immobilising the tigers.
Five goats eaten = tigers win; zero legal tiger moves = goats win.

Strategy

Never leave a goat with an empty point behind it in line with a tiger — that is a free jump.
Place goats in pairs and walls: a goat with a friend directly behind it is safe from leaping.
Push the tigers toward the edges and corners where they have fewer escape lines.
Sacrifices are sometimes worth it — giving up one goat to lock two tigers can win the board.
The opening placements decide the game; build a solid front rather than scattering the herd.

Practical Tips

Green highlights show every legal goat destination — use them to spot safe placements.
Watch the diagonals: only even points connect diagonally, so a tiger on an odd point has fewer leap lines.
Count tiger mobility each turn; you win the instant all four are stuck.
The AI tigers look several moves ahead, so avoid dangling a lone goat two points from a tiger with a gap between.

FAQ

Where does Bagh-Chal come from?

Bagh-Chal is the traditional national board game of Nepal, played for centuries on carved stone or wooden boards. Similar tigers-and-goats hunt games appear across South and Southeast Asia.

Which side do I play?

On Arcadia you command the 20 goats and the AI plays the 4 tigers. Goats win by trapping every tiger; tigers win by capturing five goats.

How do tigers capture goats?

A tiger leaps in a straight line over one adjacent goat into the empty point directly beyond it, exactly like a short jump in checkers. If there is no empty landing point, no capture is possible.

Can my goats be eaten while I place them?

Yes. Tigers can leap and eat a goat at any time once it is on the board — including during the placement phase. The only protection is positional: a goat backed by another piece, or with no empty landing point in line beyond it, cannot be jumped. Never drop a goat where a corner tiger can leap it.