Classic Barjees is based on a traditional game that used to be popular in middle-eastern cultures. The game is believed to have originated in India, and later travelled along the Silk Road to Persia and eventually the Levantine.

It is traditionally played on dark velvet fabric with colorful embroidery. Six cowry shells are thrown each turn to determine the number of moves based on whether they land on their open or closed side.

You win the game by moving your pawns all around the board and into the middle (called Kitchen, or "Mutbakh" in Arabic). Your number of moves is determined by the combination of open and closed shells after throwing.

Classic Barjees includes 3 game modes:

- Singleplayer: play against an AI opponent
- Local multiplayer: take turns playing against a friend on the same device
- Online multiplayer: play online against your friends or with complete strangers using matchmaking. You can send match invitations via iMessage from within the app

Other features:

- Turn-based multiplayer lets you have several matches going with different people simultaneously
- Take your turns at your leisure, the app will notify you when it's your turn to play!
- Play with Game Center friends
- Multiple background colors are available
- Your match is saved when you quit the app, letting you continue where you left off