Paanch online
Play a card, claim a square. Five in a row wins.
- Players
- 3–10 players
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Length
- 15–25 min
- Type
- Strategy
Paanch is the card-and-board game half of India already plays on a folded board at kitty parties, without the folded board. Every card in your hand matches two squares on the grid. Play the card, drop a chip on one of them, and try to line up five before the other two do.
The catch is that everyone is playing onto the same hundred squares. The square you were saving is the square someone else needed, and you will not know which until it is gone.
Jacks are not squares, they are moves. Two of them let you claim any empty square you like; the other two let you knock an opponent's chip straight off the board — unless it is already part of a finished five, which nothing can touch.
How to play Paanch
- 1Create a room and share the 6-letter code. Three people play; anyone else watches and takes the winner's seat next game.
- 2Everyone starts with six cards. The board is a fixed 10×10 grid, and every card appears on it exactly twice.
- 3On your turn, play a card and put one of your chips on a matching empty square. Then draw a replacement.
- 4A Jack of diamonds or clubs is wild — place a chip on any empty square.
- 5A Jack of spades or hearts removes one opponent chip from the board.
- 6The four corners are free squares that count for everybody.
- 7If both squares for a card are taken, the card is dead — discard it, draw a new one, and your turn passes.
- 8First to five in a row — across, down or diagonally — wins. Chips in a finished five can never be removed.
Paanch FAQ
How many people can play Paanch?+
Three at a time. If more are in the room they watch and rotate in, with the winner keeping their seat for the next game.
Is this the same as Sequence?+
It is the same family of game — play a card, claim its square, line up five. Paanch is our own version with its own board and artwork; Sequence is a registered trademark of Jax Ltd. and this is not affiliated with it.
What do the Jacks do?+
Jacks have no square on the board. Diamonds and clubs are wild and place a chip anywhere empty. Spades and hearts remove an opponent chip — but never one that is part of a completed five.
What happens if I get a card I cannot play?+
If both of its squares are already taken the card is dead. Tap it and discard it for a fresh card; nothing is placed and play moves on.
Do the corner squares belong to anyone?+
No. All four corners are free and count towards every player's line at once, so two people can build different fives through the same corner.
Ready to play Paanch?
Create a room, share the code, and start in seconds — free.
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