Dhaayam | Dhayam | தாயம் | Thayam

Dhaayam is a Tamil dice game played by 2 or 4 people (or multiples) by forming teams. It originated in Tamil Nadu (a southern state of India)

The word "Daya" is derived from the Tamil word "Thayam," meaning first stone.

The game uses a pair of long cuboid dice, called the Dayakattai. These dice go by names such as Daayam and Daala.

They are typically made of brass and have dots punched onto the long faces (1, 2, 3, 0). Each player starts with twelve or six coins/chips at a 'home' in the center of the game board.

Dhaayam [தாயம்] is a traditional game of Tamil Nadu. Players take turns rolling the Dayakattai. When a player rolls a Dayam (0 on one die and 1 on another), he moves one of his pieces one space, rolls again and advances his piece by the number indicated by the dice. The want to move all the pieces out of the home, Daayam must be rolled for each one.

Pieces advance first along the side of the player and then in a clockwise direction. When a player rolls a one, five, six, or twelve (two 0s), they get to roll again. The numbers rolled can be distributed among the player's pieces (e.g., if a player rolls 5, 12 and 2, they can move one piece by 12, move another by 5, and then move one more by 2. Alternately, the player could elect to have the three numbers shared by only two pieces or even move only one piece by the total number rolled).

Pieces can 'cut' other pieces by landing on the same spot that they are in. A 'cut' piece is sent home. However, while in one of the safe zones (marked by an X), a piece cannot be cut. After completing one lap, a piece starts to move up the outer edge of the right side of its owner's leg of the game board. It stays on the corners instead of the spaces. The piece then needs to move the exact number of spaces to get to the center of the board. While at the corner of the home, a piece can be cut by another piece getting to the corner of its home. Players win by getting all of their pieces to the center of the board. This game has 8 steps.