Two to four at the board
Play against the computer with one, two or three others at the board. Every seat is filled, so a game always starts.
Board Games by Vanikar™ · Coming soon
The boards families keep coming back to
Eight games, two to four to a board, against the computer offline or online with friends and family. Snakes and Ladders leads them, on seven boards; behind it are the old boards it came from, thrown with the Tamil stick dice.
Coming soon See the games
One account
Board Games by Vanikar™, Chess & Checkers by Vanikar™ and Card Games by Vanikar™ share one sign-in. A Card Games subscription includes every one of them — there is nothing separate to buy.
See plans →iOS and Android apps coming soon
- 8
- games
- 2–4
- players
- 7
- boards for Snakes and Ladders
- 0
- ads
What you get
A table set properly
Every game keeps your place, counts towards your stats, and never shows you an advert.
Online with friends and family
Create a board, share the code, and play two to four together — from a browser on any device today, and from the Board Games app when it arrives — the same board either way. Online games count towards your rating and My Stats.
Picked up where you left it
Close the tab mid-game and come back to it: the game is kept in your browser, on the board you were playing.
Boards and pieces to choose
Snakes and Ladders has seven boards — jungle, desert, ocean, arctic, space and candy beside the classic — and eight sets of pieces, from counters to rockets.
Stats and leaderboards
Wins and games count towards My Stats and the leaderboards, exactly as the card games do.
The games
Eight boards, one family
Each is its own game, with its own board, its own dice and its own way of getting home.
Snakes and Ladders
The modern game: a hundred squares, ladders up, snakes down, and a six rolls again. Seven boards to pick from, each with its own ladders and snakes.
Coming soon How to play →Paramapadham
The Tamil elder of them all, played through the night of Vaikunta Ekadasi: a hundred squares, virtues for ladders, demons for snakes, and Vaikuntham at the top.
Coming soon How to play →Gyan Chaupar
The game of knowledge, on the 72-square board: 68 wins — but only if you land on it exactly, or the snake on 72 sends you back to 51.
Coming soon How to play →Gyan Bazi
The Jain board, eighty-four squares under a crown of three: the vows carry you up, the passions carry you down, and Siddhashila is home.
Coming soon How to play →Shatranj al-Arifin
The chess of the gnostics: a hundred squares along the Sufi path, from repentance to the Throne, with the diseases of the heart waiting on the way.
Coming soon How to play →Dhayam
The Tamil race around a cross, thrown with the same sticks. Land where another piece stands and you cut it: back to the start it goes, and round you carry on.
Coming soon How to play →Aadu Puli Aattam
Goats and tigers on a triangle. Three tigers hunt fifteen goats; the goats win by hemming the tigers in so none can jump. No dice at all — it is all position.
Coming soon How to play →Guilds to Galaxies
The property-trading game, on nine boards — a century each from the 1400s to the 2200s. Buy, build, charge rent, and see the same game played from guild halls to galaxies.
Coming soon How to play → Questions
Frequently asked
Which board games are coming?
Eight: Snakes and Ladders, Paramapadham, Gyan Chaupar, Gyan Bazi, Shatranj al-Arifin, Dhayam, Aadu Puli Aattam and Guilds to Galaxies — all coming to your browser at play.vanikar.games.
Can I play board games online?
Yes — every one of them. Two to four share a board (two at Aadu Puli Aattam): create a board, share the code, and the others join. It is the same online play the card games have, with the seat kept if you reload and the result counting towards your rating.
Do I need an account?
Yes — the same Vanikar™ account as Card Games and Chess & Checkers. Sign in once and everything is there, with your stats following the account rather than the device.
Are the board games included in my subscription?
Yes. One subscription covers the card games, Chess & Checkers and the board games, and every game we release after them.
What are the stick dice?
Dayakattai: two four-sided sticks, thrown together. They show blank, 1, 2 or 3, the throw is their sum, and two blanks are twelve. A one — a dayam — brings a piece onto the board and throws again, as do 5, 6 and 12. Paramapadham, Gyan Chaupar, Gyan Bazi, Shatranj al-Arifin and Dhayam are all played with them.
Will it be on my phone?
Yes. The board games are coming to any phone browser first, and a Board Games app for iOS and Android is coming after that — on the same account, with online play across browser and phone.
Roll when ready.
Pick a board, fill the seats, and play — no download, no advert, no wait.
Coming soon