T'shu-p'u

T'shu-p'u is a Chinese race game dating from the first millennium A.D. It is similar to the Indian games of Chaupur/Chaupar and Pachisi, which also inspired the simplistic Western games Ludo and Parcheesi. Being such an old game, there is no recognisable theme. Four players compete in two partnership teams to get their pieces from the starting position, around the cross-shaped board, and to the central square. Each player has four pieces, and pieces are moved according to the throws of a four-sided die. It is possible to knock other players' pieces off the track, returning them to the start.