Patolli is one of the oldest known games in the Americas, played by the Aztecs, Toltecs, and Mayans. It was a game of high stakes, often involving the gambling of personal property, status, or even freedom.
Concepts & Symbolism
Cosmic Cycles (The I Ching Parallel)
The Patolli board is in the shape of a cross (X), divided into squares.
- Like the I Ching, the game was deeply integrated into the calendrical and cosmological systems of the people who played it.
- The movements of the pieces were seen as symbolic of the movement of celestial bodies or the “four corners of the world.”
- Playing was often a ritual act to seek favor from Macuilxochitl (Five Flower), the god of games and flowers.
High-Stakes Karma
The intense gambling associated with Patolli mirrors The Devil—the binding of oneself to material stakes—and The Tower—the sudden, dramatic collapse of fortune.
Basic Rules
- Objective: Move all your pieces around the cross-shaped board and off before the opponent.
- Dice: Red beans marked with holes were used as dice.
- Gambling: Players had to pay into a central pot at certain squares or events.
- Capture: Landing on certain squares could result in having pieces taken or forced to wait.
Skill Progression
- The Gambler: Focuses purely on the dice and the immediate risk.
- The Ritualist: Understands the “sacred” squares and the timing of the race.
- The Macuilxochitl Adept: Masters the psychological pressure of the bet. Knowing when to double down and when to play defensively to protect pieces from being “bound” by bad dice rolls.
CAUTION
Patolli was so tied to indigenous religious practice that Spanish conquistadors went to great lengths to destroy the boards and forbid the game.