Patolli
Patolli or patole is a pre-Columbian Mesoamerican game attested in Central Mexico and the Maya region, with examples dating at least to the Early Classic period. It was reported by the conquistadors that Moctezuma Xocoyotzin often enjoyed watching his nobles play the game at court.
The game is best documented among the Aztecs, who portrayed it as a race-and-chance game associated with gambling, offerings, and the deity Macuilxochitl. In contrast, the forms of patolli used by the Maya are known only from archaeological remains, and their gameplay rules have not survived. Patolli boards appear throughout Mesoamerica in a variety of layouts, materials, and cultural contexts. While Aztec sources describe portable painted mats with standardized 52-square X-shaped designs, most Maya boards are etched or carved into plaster floors and benches within palaces, temples, and elite residential compounds. A unique example from Naachtun, Guatemala, consists of a mosaic of hundreds of ceramic sherds embedded into a plaster floor, representing the only known patolli board of its kind in Mesoamerica.
Across regions, patolli served multiple functions, including recreation, social competition, divination, and ritual activity. Its wide distribution and cultural variation make it one of the most enduring and adaptable games in pre-Columbian North and Central America.
History
Patolli and its variants were played by a wide range of pre-Columbian Indigenous cultures and were known all over Mesoamerica. While the term Patolli in the strict sense refers to the Aztec version described in colonial-era manuscripts, archaeologists use the term more broadly for similar board-game layouts found throughout Mesoamerica.Versions of Aztec Patolli were played by the Teotihuacanos, the Toltecs, the Aztecs and all of the people under vassalage.
Maya Patolli
The Maya peoples played patolli-type games during the Classic period, with archaeological examples dating at least to the Early Classic. No associated gaming pieces have been found for Maya boards, and the gameplay rules used by the Maya are not preserved. In the Maya region, patolli boards vary in size and configuration, including rectangular frames with central crosses and differing numbers of squares. Most known Maya boards are etched or carved into plaster floors and benches, and one example from Naachtun was constructed as a ceramic mosaic set into a plaster floor.Archaeological context
Archaeological patolli boards in the Maya Lowlands are found primarily in palaces, temples, and large residential compounds, often incised directly into plaster floors, benches, or other architectural surfaces. These boards typically occur in aristocratic or semi-public spaces rather than in peripheral domestic areas. Recent studies at sites such as Xunantunich and in Campeche identify clusters of patolli boards within single architectural groups, suggesting that some rooms or buildings served as designated gathering places for gaming, ritual activity, or other communal functions.Variation in board layouts
Maya patolli boards display significant variation in form. The most common configuration is a rectangular frame containing a central cross, corresponding to "Type II" in the typology proposed by Swezey and Bittman. The number of squares differs between examples: some boards include eleven squares per side, others show uneven counts between sides, and some miniature boards measure only a few centimeters across.Unlike the standardized 52-square X-shaped layout known from Aztec sources, Maya versions do not conform to a single canonical design. Certain examples lack inner circles, and others are asymmetrical due to architectural constraints or regional stylistic preferences.
Construction techniques
Most Maya patolli boards were created by lightly incising lines into plaster surfaces, producing shallow patterns that are difficult to date because they may have been made long after the surrounding architecture was constructed. In contrast, the patolli board uncovered in Structure 6L-19 at Naachtun was inlaid directly into the plaster of Floor 1 during the floor's construction. This association provides a rare instance in which a patolli board can be securely tied to a specific architectural phase. The Naachtun discovery demonstrates that patolli boards could be intentionally planned features rather than informal additions by later occupants.The Naachtun mosaic patolli board
The Naachtun board, located in Residential Complex 6L13, is unique within the known Mesoamerican corpus. Instead of being incised, its pattern was formed using hundreds of small red ceramic sherds pressed into fresh plaster, creating a mosaic design measuring approximately 80 by 110 centimeters. Analysis indicates that at least twelve Early Classic vessels were broken or repurposed to supply the tesserae, including Dos Hermanos Red, Aguila Orange, and polychrome types. Digital reconstruction of tesserae centroids suggests that the full board originally contained around 478 sherds arranged into a rectangular frame and central cross totaling roughly forty-five squares. The exclusive use of red sherds may reflect deliberate color choice, possibly connected to Maya directional symbolism.Chronology and use-life
Because the tesserae are embedded within the construction surface of Floor 1, the Naachtun board dates to the same building episode and predates the final architectural phase of Structure 6L-19, whose later wall partially covers the board. This relationship provides a terminus post quem in the Early Classic period, making the Naachtun example one of the earliest securely dated patolli boards in the Maya region. The considerable labor required to collect and inlay hundreds of sherds suggests that the board was intended for long-term use, although the subsequent construction that overlapped the board limits certainty about its duration of visibility. No associated gaming pieces or termination deposits were recovered.Interpretation
Interpretations of Maya patolli vary. Some studies link patolli boards to cosmological models, divinatory practices, or forms of ritual communication with the dead. Others emphasize recreational or social roles, including community cohesion or elite leisure. The Naachtun board's deliberate construction, architectural placement, and association with a high-status residential complex indicate that patolli games in the Maya region may have served multiple roles simultaneously. Its integration into the built environment underscores both intentional planning and the broader sociopolitical significance of gaming among Classic-period Maya communities.Players
In the Aztec context, patolli is documented as a gambling race game. Archaeological examples in the Maya region show similar board layouts, but their specific rules and purposes are not known. The Aztec would bet blankets, maguey plants, precious stones, gold adornments, food or, in extreme cases, their homes, family or freedom. Agreeing to play against someone was not done casually, as the winner of the game would ultimately win all of the opponent's store of offerings.Each player must have the same number of items to bet at the beginning of the game. The typical number of items to bet is six, because each player has six markers ; although any number would be acceptable as long as each player agreed.
Once an agreement is made to play, the players prepare themselves by invoking the god of games, Xōchipilli.
Game pieces for Aztec Patolli
Five black beans are used as dice. Each bean has one side marked with a hole; thus, tossing the black beans will result in some showing this white mark and others showing a blank side. Dice could also be used; the rules in this article pertain to using five beans.The game pieces are six red and six blue pebbles. In the Aztec version, players used sets of colored stones or seeds as markers. The Aztec version uses a 52-square X-shaped layout. In Aztec depictions, patolli boards appear as painted mats.
Aztec Gameplay
The object of patolli is to move six game pieces to the end of a board composed of specially-marked squares. In order to complete a round, a player must get all six of their game markers from their starting queue to the ending square on the game board before the other player. The ultimate goal of the game is for a player to win all of the opponent's treasure; to do this, the players may need to play more than one round of the game.These gameplay rules apply only to the Aztec version documented in codices. Equivalent rules for Maya patolli-type boards are not preserved, and the Aztec rules are not known to apply to Maya examples.
Movement
The players take turns tossing the beans onto the game area. In order for a player to get one of their markers on the game board, one bean would have to land with its hole face up and all the others face down. Once a player has done so, the player places one of their game markers from their starting queue onto the starting square of the game board.If a player already has a marker on the game board, they can move it forward the same number of spaces as there are holes showing from the toss. A toss showing five holes, however, allows the player to move their marker ten spaces forward. A player cannot move a marker onto a space that already has a marker on it. If the player cannot move any of their markers because they would overshoot the ending square or land on a spot occupied by another marker, they lose their turn.
Special areas
There are several specially-marked areas on the game board:- The four squares in the middle of the "X": Landing on an opponent's marker in this area is allowed, and if a player does so, the opponent's marker is removed from the game board and put back into the opponent's starting queue. The opponent is then required to give up one of their treasures to the landing player.
- The two dark triangular spaces near the end of each arm of the "X": A player who lands on one of these triangular spaces must give up one of their treasures to the opponent.
- The two squares at the end of each arm of the "X": A player who lands on one of these squares takes another turn.