Aadu Puli Aattam – Goats and Tigers Board Game
Play Aadu Puli Aattam, the Tamil goats-and-tigers hunt game: 3 tigers, 15 goats and a triangle board. Trap the tigers or hunt 5 goats.
How to play
- 1
The board is a triangle crossed by a rectangle, with 23 points joined by lines. 3 tigers start at the top: on the apex and the two inner points below it.
- 2
The goats move first. While goats are still in hand, the goat player places one goat on any empty point each turn. Goats cannot move until all 15 are placed.
- 3
On their turn a tiger moves one step along a line to an empty point, or jumps over one goat in a straight line to the empty point just beyond it — that goat is captured.
- 4
The tigers win when they capture 5 goats. The goats win when no tiger can move or jump.
- 5
If 50 moves pass after all goats are placed without any capture, the game is a draw. Choose to play goats or tigers against the computer, or play with a friend.
Tips
- Goats: fill the bottom of the board first and keep goats in pairs, so a tiger never has an empty point behind a goat.
- Goats: never leave a goat alone next to a tiger with an open point on the other side.
- Tigers: stay in the middle where there are more lines, and look for double threats that attack two goats at once.
- Tigers: a tiger at the apex is easy to block — come down early.
About this game
Aadu Puli Aattam (ஆடு புலி ஆட்டம், “the goat and tiger game”) is a traditional hunt game from Tamil Nadu. One player has 3 tigers and the other has 15 goats. The tigers hunt by jumping over goats, while the goats work together to surround the tigers until they cannot move. Boards for it are still found carved into old temple floors.
This free online version uses the classic 23-point triangle board. Play the goats or the tigers against an Easy or Hard computer, or pass the phone to a friend. Legal points glow, the last move is marked, pieces glide across the board, and you can undo a move against the computer.
Free to play · no sign-up · no ads · your best scores are saved only on this device.
Questions
How many goats must the tigers capture to win?
In this version the tigers win by capturing 5 goats. That is the target used in many printed rule sheets. Some families play on until all 15 goats are taken.
Can a tiger capture more than one goat in a move?
No. Here a tiger captures one goat per jump and the turn ends. The goats can never jump or capture.
Is Aadu Puli Aattam the same as Bagh Chal?
They are cousins. Bagh Chal from Nepal uses a 5×5 square grid with 4 tigers and 20 goats. Aadu Puli Aattam (also called Lambs and Tigers or Pulijudam) uses a triangle board with 23 points, 3 tigers and 15 goats.
Where can I see this game in real life?
Boards for this game are scratched into the stone floors of old temples and mandapams in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, where people played it while waiting or resting.
Who has the advantage?
With careful play the goats are usually stronger, but one mistake can give the tigers a capture. Try both sides against the Hard computer.
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