Aadu Puli Aattam Rules
Three tigers, fifteen goats, no dice at all.
Aadu Puli Aattam (ஆடு புலி ஆட்டம்) is the hunt game cut into the stone floors of old South Indian temples: a triangle over a rectangle, three tigers against fifteen goats, and not a die in sight. The two sides do not play the same game — the tigers hunt, the goats crowd — and you choose which one you want.
Ways to play Aadu Puli Aattam
Two to four at the board
Play Aadu Puli Aattam against the computer with one, two or three others at the board. Every seat is filled, so a game always starts.
Online with friends and family
Create a board, share the code, and play together on the same board. 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.
No ads, ever
No advertising, no interruption, nothing to dismiss. The same promise as every Vanikar™ game.
🎯 Objective
As the tigers, take five goats. As the goats, hem the tigers in until not one of them can move.
🎲 Aadu Puli Aattam setup
- The board is twenty-three points where the lines of a triangle and a rectangle meet. Pieces stand on the points, not in the spaces.
- The three tigers begin on the board: one on the apex and two on the middle points of the row beneath it.
- The fifteen goats begin in hand.
- Choose your side; the computer takes the other, at the level you set. The goats move first.
▶ How to play Aadu Puli Aattam
- While any goats remain in hand, a goat’s turn is to place one on any empty point.
- Once all fifteen are down, a goat’s turn is to move one step along a line to an empty neighbouring point.
- A tiger may move one step along a line to an empty point.
- A tiger may instead jump over one goat standing next to it, in a straight line, to the empty point just beyond — and that goat is taken.
- A jump must follow a line of the board: at the apex and at the rectangle’s corners two points can be neighbours without a line running straight through them, and there is no jump that way.
- Tigers cannot jump other tigers, and cannot jump two goats at once.
📖 Detailed guide
The board
- A triangle laid over a rectangle: one point at the apex, four lines fanning down from it to the base, and three rows across that run on to the rectangle’s sides.
- Twenty-three points in all, and every move runs along a line between them.
- It is the board cut into temple floors across South India, and it is played on the floor as often as on a table.
- Goats taken are shown at one side, goats still in hand at the other.
Playing the goats
- The placing phase is the dangerous one: fifteen turns in which your pieces cannot move.
- Never place a goat with an empty point directly behind it on a line a tiger stands on.
- Build a solid block and advance it. Goats win by taking space away, not by chasing.
- Losing four goats is survivable; losing the fifth is the game, so count the tigers’ jumps before every placement.
Playing the tigers
- You need five goats and you will not get them late — take what the placing phase offers.
- Keep the three tigers apart: tigers that crowd each other block their own jumps.
- Avoid the apex and the rectangle’s corners once the goats have numbers; those are the points with fewest ways out.
- A tiger with no legal move is not removed — but if all three have none, the game is lost.
🏁 How Aadu Puli Aattam is won
The tigers win by taking five goats — after that there are too few left to ever pen them in. The goats win by blocking every tiger so that none can move or jump.
❓ Aadu Puli Aattam — frequently asked questions
How many players do you need for Aadu Puli Aattam?
Aadu Puli Aattam is played by 2. Seats you do not fill are taken by the computer, so a game always starts.
When can I play Aadu Puli Aattam?
Aadu Puli Aattam is in development. It will arrive in Board Games by Vanikar™ and is included in the same subscription as the card games, with nothing separate to buy.
Is Aadu Puli Aattam included in my subscription?
Yes. One Card Games by Vanikar™ subscription covers the card games, Chess & Checkers and the board games, and every game released after them.
Does Aadu Puli Aattam have ads?
No. No Vanikar™ game has ever carried advertising, and none ever will.
How many pieces does each side have?
Three tigers and fifteen goats. The tigers start on the board; the goats start in hand and are placed one a turn.
How do the tigers win?
By taking five goats. After five are gone there are too few left to ever pen the tigers in, so the game is decided there.
How do the goats win?
By blocking every tiger so that none of them can move a step or make a jump.
Is there any dice in it?
None at all. Aadu Puli Aattam is pure position — the only game in the family with no throw of any kind.