Parchisi STAR Online is a free online multiplayer mobile version of the classic board game, Parcheesi. Developed by Gameberry Labs, this video game lets you play Parcheesi or Pachisi with friends and family without needing a physical copy of the board game. You can also chat while playing if your opponents aren’t right next to you.

Like the original

Parcheesi is a brand-name American adaptation of Pachisi, which is an Indian cross and circle board game. Its gameplay is similar to Sorry!, Ludo, and a Spanish version called Parchís. You typically play with a pair of dice and four pieces per player. The goal is to move all of your pieces to the home nest before anyone else. However, the nature of this game depends on luck and the roll of the dice so getting all of your pieces out and past the others’ won’t be easy.

Parchisi STAR Online utilizes the same rules in the board game and you can have 2 - 4 players in a single match. Loading up the main menu, there are 5 game modes available: One-on-One, Team Up, 4-Player, Play with Friends, and Play Offline. You can create a guest account but logging in with Facebook lets you connect with FB friends who play the game, allows you to earn and send gifts to them, and save your game to play across different devices. 

Whichever mode you pick, you can bet a set portion of your gold and choose either the Classic or Spanish rules. The betting pool determines how much will the reward be. While playing, you can send pop-up messages and emojis to communicate with your opponents. If they start using foul language or you want to play in peace, you can just mute them. Aside from the modes, however, Parchisi STAR Online also offers other cool features. 

Not just a board game

There’s a weekly league where you can try to climb the leaderboard for bigger rewards. You can shop for in-game currency with real money. You can connect with friends if you have logged in with Facebook. There’s also a daily chest that gives out 50k coins when you win games. You can even customize your avatar, game tokens, and game boards by buying them with the special currency you earn from playing—although the tokens have to be crafted with materials. The dice’s appearance can be changed, as well. 

This Parcheesi game contains a wide variety of content you can play around with. However, it still has some issues. The most glaring of them is the dice roll. Sometimes, it feels as if the numbers are rigged and you can’t get any good roll. Another thing is that it’s a bit of a hassle to find friends through a list. The same happens when you try to set up your country in your profile.

Still enjoyable

All in all, while Parchisi STAR Online lacks some interface tricks that would make things easier, it’s still a fun game if you’re a huge fan of Parcheesi. It offers different game modes for you to try out so things won’t get so boring quickly. This is recommended for any fans of the original board game.