How to Play Shatranj al-Arifin
The Sufi board — a hundred squares from repentance to the Throne.
Shatranj al-Arifin — شطرنج العارفين, the chess of the gnostics — is the Sufi form of the game, known from boards made in Hindustan and the Deccan. A hundred squares run along the path from repentance to the Throne, with the stations of the way to carry a traveller up and the diseases of the heart waiting to carry them down.
Ways to play Shatranj al-Arifin
Two to four at the board
Play Shatranj al-Arifin 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
Reach the hundredth square, the Throne, on the exact throw.
🎲 Shatranj al-Arifin setup
- The board is a hundred squares, with a dargah by night drawn above it — the dome, the minarets, a frieze of eight-pointed stars.
- Two to four play; the computer takes the seats you leave.
- Pieces start off the board and come on with a dayam.
- The game is thrown with the dayakattai stick dice.
▶ How to play Shatranj al-Arifin
- Throw the two sticks; a dayam brings your piece on, and 1, 5, 6 and 12 throw again.
- The ladders are the stations of the path — repentance, patience, gratitude, trust, contentment — and each one carries you towards the Throne.
- The snakes are the diseases of the heart, and they carry you back down the way you came.
- Land exactly on a station or a disease for it to take effect; passing over does nothing.
- Square 100 must be reached exactly; a throw that would carry you past leaves the piece where it stands.
How to play Shatranj al-Arifin
The Sufi chess of the gnostics, played in the app: a hundred squares to the Throne, the stick dice, the stations of the path and the diseases of the heart.
English synthetic narration and on-screen text · translated subtitles and transcript available
Read the transcript
Shatranj al-Arifin, the chess of the gnostics, is the Sufi form of the game, known from boards made in Hindustan and the Deccan. This is the board in the Vanikar app. Choose your pieces and how many play. Empty seats are the computer's. Then start the game. A hundred squares run from repentance to the Throne, under a dargah by night: the dome, the minarets, and a frieze of eight-pointed stars. The game is thrown with the dayakattai, two stick dice. A dayam, a throw of one, brings your piece onto the board, and a one, five, six or twelve throws again. The ladders are the stations of the path: repentance, patience, gratitude, trust, contentment. Each one carries a traveller towards the Throne. The snakes are the diseases of the heart, and they carry you back down the way you came. Iblis waits three squares from the Throne. Land exactly on a station or a disease for it to take effect; passing over does nothing. Square one hundred, the Throne, must be reached exactly, and the first piece there wins. Find Shatranj al-Arifin, and the whole family of boards, at vanikar.games.
📖 Detailed guide
The path, drawn as a board
- A hundred squares, each a station or a state on the way, from the first turning to the Throne at the end.
- The ladders are the maqamat — the stations a traveller climbs through — and the snakes are the heart’s diseases: envy, pride, heedlessness.
- Over the board is a dargah by night, a saint’s shrine of the kind that stand across India.
- The board is a teaching object as much as a game, which is why the same square carries a name as well as a number.
Playing it
- The rules are the family’s: throw the sticks, come on with a dayam, land exactly to be carried, finish exactly to win.
- Throws of 1, 5, 6 and 12 earn another throw, so a turn can run on.
- Two to four seats, with the computer filling any you do not, and online play with a shared code.
- The game is written down after every throw, so you can leave it and come back to the same square.
🏁 How Shatranj al-Arifin is won
The first piece to land on the hundredth square — the ’arsh, the Throne — wins.
❓ Shatranj al-Arifin — frequently asked questions
How many players do you need for Shatranj al-Arifin?
Shatranj al-Arifin is played by 2–4. Seats you do not fill are taken by the computer, so a game always starts.
Where can I play Shatranj al-Arifin?
In your browser at play.vanikar.games, on a computer, a tablet or a phone. Sign in with the same Vanikar™ account you use for the card games.
Is Shatranj al-Arifin 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 Shatranj al-Arifin have ads?
No. No Vanikar™ game has ever carried advertising, and none ever will.
What is Shatranj al-Arifin?
The Sufi form of the hundred-square race game, known from boards made in Hindustan and the Deccan. The ladders are the stations of the path, the snakes are the diseases of the heart, and the last square is the Throne.
Is it chess?
No, despite the name. Shatranj is the old word for chess, and the board was named as “the chess of the gnostics”, but it is played with stick dice on a hundred numbered squares, not with pieces that move.
What dice does it use?
The dayakattai — two four-sided sticks showing blank, 1, 2 or 3. The throw is their sum, two blanks are twelve, and 1, 5, 6 and 12 throw again.
How long does a game take?
A hundred squares with a piece that cannot start until you throw a dayam, and more snakes than ladders. Expect a full evening with 4 seats.
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