This article discusses a number of nineteenth century playing boards for the Sufi form of the traditional Indian board game of gyān caupar̩ (the Chaupar of Gnosis), from which modern Snakes and Ladders derives. Usually comprising 100 squares inscribed in Persian, the playing area conducts the players hazardously upward from lower spiritual states to the final goal of heaven, according to the throw of dice and sudden demotions or promotions through snakes or ladders. Most surviving examples are held in British collections, including that of the Royal Asiatic Society. Detailed attention is given to a unique, expanded version of the standard Sufi board which came to light a few years ago. Innovative and elaborate in its structure, method of play and nomenclature, it seems however to have been a late and short-lived experiment.

本文讨论了一些 19 世纪的棋盘，用于传统印度棋盘游戏gyān caupar̩的苏菲形式（Gnosis 的 Chaupar），现代蛇和梯子源自于此。通常由 100 个用波斯语铭刻的方格组成，游戏区根据掷骰子和通过蛇或梯子突然降级或晋升，将玩家从较低的精神状态危险地向上引导到天堂的最终目标。大多数幸存的例子都保存在英国的收藏中，包括皇家亚洲学会的收藏。对几年前曝光的标准 Sufi 板的独特扩展版本给予了详细的关注。它在结构、演奏方法和命名法上具有创新性和复杂性，但它似乎是一个晚期和短命的实验。