RivalPit presents

বাঘ বন্দী

Bagh Bandi — Tiger & Goats

The classic Bengali board game. The lone tiger hunts; the goats try to pen it in. Feast as the tiger, or trap it with teamwork.

Mode

vs Computer

2 Players

🌐 Challenge a Friend

Play as

বাঘ Tiger

ছাগল Goats

Computer difficulty

Easy

Medium

Hard

Draw after

40 moves

60 moves

100 moves

No limit

Timer (per player)

No timer

3 min

5 min

10 min

Custom

Board theme

Festival

Traditional

Dark Night

How to play / কীভাবে খেলবেন · বাংলা / EN

How to Play · কীভাবে খেলবেন

English

বাংলা

The board has 13 points joined in an hourglass. Pieces move one step along any drawn line to an empty connected point.

The goats (7) start on the top. They cannot capture — their only weapon is teamwork. They win by blocking the tiger so it has no legal move left.

The tiger (1) starts at the bottom centre. It moves one step like a goat, but can also jump straight over a single neighbouring goat into the empty point beyond it, removing that goat. The tiger wins after 3 captures.

Draw: if nobody wins within the move limit. You can also play with a clock — if your time runs out, you lose.

Tip: as the goats, keep a wall with no gaps behind it — never leave an empty point right behind a goat in line with the tiger, or it gets jumped. As the tiger, bully your way to the centre (point 7) where you threaten the most jumps.

বোর্ড: ১৩টি বিন্দু আওয়ারগ্লাস (ঘড়ির মতো) আকারে লাইন দিয়ে যুক্ত। প্রতিটি ঘুঁটি লাইন ধরে এক ধাপ করে পাশের খালি বিন্দুতে যায়।

ছাগল (৭টি): উপরে শুরু হয়। ছাগল কিছু ধরতে পারে না — এদের একমাত্র শক্তি দলবদ্ধতা। বাঘকে এমনভাবে ঘিরে ফেলতে হবে যাতে বাঘের আর কোনো চাল বাকি না থাকে — তাহলেই ছাগলের জয়।

বাঘ (১টি): নিচে শুরু হয়। ছাগলের মতো এক ধাপ চলে, তবে পাশের একটি ছাগলের উপর দিয়ে সোজা লাইনে লাফ দিয়ে পেছনের খালি বিন্দুতে গিয়ে সেই ছাগলটি খেয়ে ফেলতে পারে। ৩টি ছাগল ধরলে বাঘের জয়।

ড্র: নির্ধারিত চালের মধ্যে কেউ জিততে না পারলে খেলা ড্র। চাইলে ঘড়ি দিয়েও খেলা যায় — সময় শেষ হয়ে গেলে আপনি হেরে যাবেন।

টিপস: ছাগল হিসেবে ফাঁক ছাড়া দেয়াল বানিয়ে এগোন — বাঘের লাইনে কোনো ছাগলের ঠিক পেছনে খালি বিন্দু রাখবেন না, নাহলে বাঘ লাফ দিয়ে খেয়ে ফেলবে। বাঘ হিসেবে কেন্দ্রের (৭ নম্বর বিন্দু) দিকে এগোন, যেখান থেকে একসাথে সবচেয়ে বেশি দিকে লাফের হুমকি দেওয়া যায়।

About Bagh Bandi

Bagh Bandi (বাঘ বন্দী, also written Bagh Bondi) is a traditional Bengali strategy board game in the worldwide family of "tigers and goats" hunt games. One lone tiger faces a flock of goats on a 13-point hourglass board. The tiger is powerful and can eat goats; the goats are helpless alone but deadly in numbers. It is a game of pure strategy with no dice and no luck — played for generations in Bengal on paper, slate, and scratched-in-the-dirt boards.

How to Play

The board has 13 points joined by lines into an hourglass shape. Every piece moves one step at a time along any drawn line to a connected empty point.

The goats (7 of them) start on the upper half of the board. Goats cannot capture anything — their only power is teamwork. The goats win by surrounding the tiger so completely that it has no legal move left.

The tiger (1) starts near the bottom. It moves one step like a goat, but it can also jump in a straight line over a single neighbouring goat into the empty point just beyond, removing that goat from the board. The tiger wins by capturing 3 goats.

Winning & draws: Tiger wins at 3 captures; goats win by trapping the tiger; if neither happens within the chosen move limit, the match is a draw.

Tips & Strategy

As the goats, advance as a connected wall and never leave an empty point directly behind a goat that lines up with the tiger — that is exactly the gap the tiger jumps through. As the tiger, fight your way to the central point, where you threaten the most directions at once and force the goats into mistakes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Bagh Bandi free to play? Yes — it runs free in your browser on RivalPit, with no download and no sign-up needed to play.

Can I play against a friend? Yes. Choose "2 Players" to play on one device, "🌐 Challenge a Friend" to play online with anyone via a shareable link, or play against the computer at Easy, Medium, or Hard.

Does it work on mobile? Yes. The board scales to any screen and there is a fullscreen "Expand" mode for phones and tablets.

What is the difference between the tiger and the goats? The tiger can capture goats by jumping; the goats cannot capture at all and must win by trapping the tiger. They are completely different ways to play.