Five beans.
Many possibilities.

A game at every table.

Patolli joined calculation with chance in Mesoamerican play. Historical descriptions associate it with ordinary people and elites. Colonial accounts report that Moctezuma Xocoyotzin enjoyed watching nobles play at court; this is a reported tradition, not an independently verified scene.

The historical rules have not survived as a complete, uniform rulebook. A cross-shaped track, marked beans and counters are well attested, but accounts and later reconstructions differ. Our version makes its choices explicit rather than claiming a definitive ancient ruleset.

Our playing profile

1. Six markers each. Jade throws first; Coral starts halfway around the shared 52-space route. All markers begin in reserve. Bring all six home first to win.
2. Throw five beans. Each marked face counts one step, except five marks count ten. Zero marks passes the turn. The server generates the throw; neither player chooses its result.
3. Enter on one. With a one-step throw, choose a reserve marker and then your start space: J↗ for Jade or C↗ for Coral. Entry puts the marker at progress zero; it does not also advance.
4. Choose one marker. Select a legal marker, then its highlighted destination. The larger marker buttons also show its destination and provide a large confirmation button. Advance the entire throw along the numbered route, looping from 52 back to 1. Occupied spaces may be passed, but your own marker blocks a landing.
5. Meet at the centre. The four diamond-marked central spaces allow capture: landing on an opposing marker sends it back to reserve. An opposing marker on any other space blocks that landing.
6. Another chance. Land on one of the eight gold, star-marked tip spaces to earn another throw. If no marker can use a throw, the turn passes automatically.
7. An exact return. Each marker must reach progress 52 exactly; overshooting is illegal. Select HOME ↗ to finish a marker. Finished markers leave the track and count toward your score.

Jade's entry is space 1; Coral's is space 27. Both follow increasing space numbers. Progress belongs to each marker: Coral's last steps continue through space 26 before reaching home. A marker at progress 50 needs exactly two steps to finish.

A friendly, private table

Play a friend through a private invitation or choose the native assembly computer at an approximate difficulty of 400–2400. These are not measured or calibrated Elo ratings. Choose Jade or Coral in either mode, and allow 0–12 spectators. Anyone holding an invitation may use it, so share carefully.

Refresh this tab to reconnect. Spectators can observe but cannot throw or move. Friend games support draw offers; either player can resign. The 2,000th throw ends an unfinished game in a draw before a marker is chosen. No money, betting or wagering is included.

History & reconstruction

Lone Star College: Patolli describes the 52-space cross, five beans and six counters, while noting the loss of the full rules.

The University of Oregon's Online Nahuatl Dictionary gathers historical language and Sahagún references, including a ruler's command to play and an account mentioning four beans. This variation cautions against treating five beans as a universal historical rule.

Bead Game's modern reconstruction informs choices such as central captures, exact finishing, tip bonuses and five marks counting ten. Our explicit rules above define this implementation.

The court-watching tradition is summarized in Wikipedia's Patolli history. We paraphrase it as a colonial report, not a direct quotation from Moctezuma or proof of a specific occasion.