A square that a player does not,and cannot in future, control with a friendly pawn. The explanation is somewhat biased: the square should have some positional implication for the opponent to be considered a hole - squares on the first and second ranks are not holes. On the other hand a square is a hole even if it can be controlled in the future with a pawn that has made a capture.

Pachisi originated in India by the sixth century. The original evidence of this game in India is the depiction of boards on the caves of Ajanta. This game was played by the Mughal emperors of India; a notable example being that of Jalaluddin Muhammad Akbar, who played living Pachisi using girls from his harem. Variations of the game made it to England during the British Raj, with one appearing under the name Ludo around 1896, which was then untested . In Germany this game is called "Mensch ärgere dich nicht" which in English means "Man, don't get mad".