Diagram of the play area and players’ moves.

The Play

At the beginning, four runners take their positions in one square each, as described in Fig. 4.1, and four stones are placed in a circle drawn in the middle. The runners must steal the stones and bring them to their respective squares without being captured by the patwar (chaser). Then, they must collect all the stones in any one of the squares. Patwar’s aim is to capture the runners while they are on the move.

Number of Players

There are five players. Of them, one will be selected to be the patwar. So, there are four runners and one patwar.

 The Playground

Four independent square boxes of sides measuring 5 ft. are drawn as shown in Fig. 4.1, leaving tracks of about 2 ft. between them, on an open flat playground measuring around 12 ft. x 12 ft. At the intersection of the paths between the squares, a circle is drawn with a 6 in. diameter. Four medium-sized stones are placed in that circle.

Equipment Needed

A chalk or white powder is required to mark the boundaries, and four small stones of any shape and size are needed. You may use any substitute available for the stones, such as small rubber balls or tiny wood logs.

Playing Method

1. The player’s names are written on pieces of paper and the player whose name is picked becomes the patwar. This way, the patwar is randomly chosen at the start of the game. Players can choose any other method as well in an informal game. 
2. The other four players stand in the four boxes (one in each), which they occupy as their native houses.
3. The play begins when the patwar starts cutting the four tracks one by one—touching the end lines and returning to the centre quickly. In doing so, the patwar has to leave the centre and go till the end of the court four times, moving in the tracks only in the space between the square houses. Meanwhile, the runners try to take one or more or even all four stones placed at the centre without being caught by the patwar.
4. After cutting the tracks, the patwar keeps moving along the cross-section to capture the runners who try to steal the stones. The patwar is not supposed to enter the boxes.
5. One of the players can also pick up all the four stones and then move into other boxes, distributing the stones to the remaining three runners. Only one player need not necessarily take the initiative to collect all the stones. Any runner can pick up as many stones as they can for distribution.
6. When each runner has at least one stone each, there is no need for distribution.
7. When all the runners get their stone, running and chasing stops. Runners ask the patwar to choose either gumpu (group) or chhuttu (separate).
   1. If the patwar says gumpu and selects a particular box, then all other players gather in that box with the stones in their hands. The patwar can tag any runner anytime when they move close enough.
   2. If the choice is chuttu, each runner has to make three rounds starting from the present box and finally reach his or her native box while escaping the patwar’s touch. The patwar can tag any runner while they are moving across the boxes to settle in their respective boxes.
8. In both the gumpu and chhuttu options, if the patwar catches any of the four runners, he or she will be the new patwar of the next game.
9. The game continues for the next two innings with all the five players, and the winner is declared after all the three innings are played.

Scoring

One set of the game consists of three innings with the same five players. The winner is the runner who is not caught during all three innings of the game and escapes being the patwar every time.

Rules

1. One box can be occupied by only one player as a house (native square).
2. The patwar can move only along the cross sections between the squares, horizontally or vertically, but cannot enter any squares or go out of the boundary.
3. The other players can move in all directions, through the squares and in cross sections within the boundary.
4. When the patwar’s choice is gumpu for the second round, all the players will gather in one box if and only if they have acquired their stone—one stone each.
5. The game continues until all the four players gather in one square with all the four stones. In chuttu, all players must reach their native squares after running three rounds, passing through all the four squares and escaping the tag by the patwar.
6. If a player is tagged out as per the rules, then he or she becomes the new patwar, and the former patwar will join the other runners. The game then starts again with the same rules.        
7. If the patwar catches one of the runners while they are moving through four boxes, the runner is declared out and becomes the next patwar in the new game.
8. If the runners successfully grab all four stones and pass both rounds, they get the chance to be runners again. The same patwar will be the chaser in the next game.