Sholo Guti (ষোল গুটি, "sixteen pieces") is a traditional Bangladeshi strategy board game, also known internationally as Sixteen Soldiers. It belongs to the Alquerque family of jump-capture games — the same lineage that eventually produced draughts/checkers. Two armies of 16 pieces face off on an extended cross-hatched board, each side trying to capture or trap the other's entire force.
The board is a 5×5 grid crossed with diagonals in every direction, with a triangular point extending above and below — 37 connected points in total.
Each army (16 pieces) starts filling its own triangle and the two nearest rows, leaving the middle row of the board empty and neutral.
Moving is one step along any drawn line to an empty connected point. Capturing is jumping in a straight line over an adjacent enemy piece into the empty point just beyond, removing that piece — and you may keep jumping with the same piece as long as more captures are available.
Winning & draws: capture every enemy piece, or trap your opponent so they have no legal move; if neither happens within the chosen move limit, the match is a draw.
Never leave an empty point directly behind one of your pieces when an enemy piece is lined up on the other side — that's exactly the gap a jump needs. Advance pieces in supported pairs so a capture attempt lands your opponent in danger, not you.
Is Sholo Guti free to play? Yes — it runs free in your browser on RivalPit, no download or sign-up needed.
Can I play against a friend? Yes. Choose "2 Players" for one device, "🌐 Challenge a Friend" to play online with anyone via a shareable link, or play the computer at Easy, Medium, or Hard.
Is capturing mandatory? No — you may choose to move normally even when a capture is available, matching the traditional rule.
Does it work on mobile? Yes, the board scales to any screen with a fullscreen "Expand" mode.