YORKTON - I have to say few things intrigue me more than an effort to preserve an historic game.
Preservation in this case is not about taking an old board and making sure it’s safe and secure in a museum. It is about making an old game available so that it might still be played by people.
Such is the case with a recent Kickstarter effort to raise funding to produce a version of Bagh Chal.
Not familiar with the game? That is not surprising, although you may have played a similar game at some point.
Bagh-Chal (tiger game) is a two-player game originating in Nepal with boardgamegeek.com suggesting it was created around 1000.
The game is among a group of asymmetric offerings (think Tafl) where players have unequal forces. In this game one player controls four tigers and the other player controls up to 20 goats. The tigers 'hunt' the goats while the goats attempt to block the tigers' movements.
“The board bears a passing resemblance to a Chinese Chess board in that the pieces move along lines from intersection to intersection,” notes a game description at boardgamegeek.com. “However, the gameplay is more similar to Alquerque, Checkers or Draughts. At the start of the game, there are four tigers on the board while there are no goats. The goat player places his/her pieces on the board one by one wherever they choose, with the tiger player getting a move between each placing. Once all the goats are on the board, the two players take turns moving one of their pieces one space. A tiger can alternatively capture a single goat by jumping over it in a line to an empty space. The tigers win if they can capture five goats. The goal for the goats (who cannot make captures) is to hem the tigers in, giving them no opportunity to move or jump.”
It seems like a kid’s game, but like many older games a depth can be found with study and repeated play.
The new edition is the first game in the Pocket Game Series by lemerygames.com and was rather easily funded with more than 2,600 backers.
The game offering is a company little one, with a foldable cloth board and smallish pieces, making it highly transportable so pack it up and go anywhere to play.
So while applauding an effort to revitalize an old game, the question was why Lemery Games thought to do it?
“While designing our upcoming game, Reviving Kathmandu, we stumbled upon an article in the Kathmandu post which said that Bagh Chal is on the brink of extinction,” offered Tamás Leidal, Co-Founder, Lemery Games, via email. “We were familiar with the game since our trip to Nepal back in 2019 when we learned to play Bagh Chal on a market in Kathmandu. Since we really liked the game back then, we decided to run an awareness 'pay what you want' campaign to introduce the game to as many people around the world as possible.”
Interestingly, Leidal is not what he terms an avid gamer.
“No, I wouldn't say so,” he responded when asked. “We mostly play with friends so we prefer games that are optimized for at least six players, that are interactive, fun and can be played within an hour or even less.
“Saboteur was the first game that we couldn't get bored of, then we played a lot of Codenames, and recently The Mind is played at least once per game night.
“When we have more time to play we love Blood Rage, Dead of Winter, Betrayal at house on the hill. We played with The Thing and the Harry Potter: Hogwarts Battle lately and we loved both.”
But, back to Bagh Chal; what were they trying to achieve with the new edition?
“Our aim was to introduce this ancient Nepali game to new players around the world,” said Leidal. “In order to do this, we decided to give it a fresh new look, make it travel-friendly and accessible to the wider public through a 'pay what you want' campaign.
“We also knew that the shipping price can be a big turn off for many backers, so we designed the game in a way that it's really light-weight and small, so we could minimize the shipping cost. Our goal was to reach around 2000 people with the campaign.
“We were super happy that in the end we could introduce Bagh Chal to 3000-plus people.”
So what does Leidal suggest players expect here?
“Bagh Chal is a two-player abstract strategy game that is easy to learn but hard to master,” he said. “The more you play the more you'll realize the depth of the game and the different strategies. Besides having a game that is fun to play at any time, players also support the survival of this ancient game, simply by playing with it.
“As for the components, we love the double-sided play mat with its nice vivid colors and abstract elements.
“Regarding the game itself, we love the way it reflects the real life behavior of goats and tigers. As a player you can feel the tension as the tigers surround the goats and try to capture them one by one, and from the goat's perspective, you really feel that your only chance for survival is if you act and move as a herd.”
We were curious what the game offers others don’t?
“Well, the biggest selling point for sure is the 'pay what you want price' and the good cause - that players save this game from being forgotten,” offered Leidal. “But the fact that all components fit into a travel-sized pouch and the whole game weighs less than 50 grams makes it unique as well.”
It is worth noting the game is less unique than one might imagine.
“Being an ancient abstract strategy game, Bagh Chal's rules and mechanics are actually similar to many other nations' abstract games, like Alquerque from the Middle East or Rimau-Rimau from Malaysia. Bagh Chal's beauty lies in its simple, yet strategic design,” said Leidal.
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