Ludo · Complete guide
Ludo: how to play, where it came from, and how to win
Roll a six to start, race four tokens round the cross, and send your rivals all the way back. The most played race game in the world.
Ludo is a race. Four tokens each, one die, a cross-shaped track, and one rule that makes the whole thing work: land on a rival and they go back to the start.
It is the simplified British version of pachisi, the Indian cross-and-circle game that has been played for well over a thousand years. The 1896 English patent replaced cowrie shells with a cubic die, cut the partnerships, and produced a game you can teach a five-year-old in a minute.
There is more skill in it than people assume — about four moves' worth per game, which is enough to matter. The die tells you how far to move; you choose which token moves, and that choice turns on simple arithmetic. A rival one to six squares behind you hits you one time in six. A capture is worth everything the captured token has travelled. Safe squares cost nothing to reach. Getting a token into your home column makes it untouchable for ever.
And thanks to mobile play, especially across South Asia and Africa, Ludo is now by a wide margin the most played race game on earth.
How to play
Roll a six to come out, race clockwise round the cross, send rivals back to their yard, and get all four tokens home on an exact roll — plus the optional rules everybody argues about.
Where it comes from
A thousand-year-old Indian cross-and-circle game, patented in England in 1896 with a die instead of cowrie shells — and now, via mobile phones, the most played race game anywhere.
- Ludo is a Victorian simplification of pachisi, an Indian game more than a thousand years old.
- Pachisi used cowrie shells, partnerships and a cloth board; Ludo replaced the shells with one die.
- Ludo was patented in England in 1896; the name is Latin for "I play".
- Parcheesi (USA) and Mensch ärgere Dich nicht (Germany) are the same family with different rules.
How to win
The die decides a lot, but not everything: which token to move, when a capture is worth the risk, why spacing beats speed, and how to bring the last token home.
- Bring several tokens out: a player with one runner must take whatever the die gives.
- Count the six squares behind you — a rival in that range hits you one time in six.
- A capture is worth everything the captured token had travelled, so hit leaders, not new tokens.
- Keep your own tokens more than six squares apart so one enemy cannot threaten two.
Common questions
Do you need a six to start?
Yes in the standard rules — and a six also gives you another roll. Some house rules allow a 1 as well, which speeds the game up a lot.
Is there skill in Ludo?
Yes. A strong player beats a random one roughly 65–70% of the time. The die decides how far you move; you decide which token, and that is where the skill lives.
What happens when you land on another token?
It goes back to its yard and needs another six to come out — unless it is on a start square, a starred safe square, or already in its home column.
Do you need an exact roll to finish?
Yes. A token in the home column must roll exactly the number of squares remaining to reach the centre, which is why the last token often takes several turns.
Is Ludo the same as Parcheesi?
They are cousins. Parcheesi is the American version with two dice, blocks and bonus moves; Ludo is the simplified British one with a single die.
Guides
Play Ludo free, right now
No sign-up, no download — it runs in your browser against the computer, a friend on the same device, or a friend online.