What you need
A ludo board: a cross of squares with a large coloured yard in each corner, a loop of 52 squares around the cross, and a coloured home column of five squares leading from the loop to the centre for each player. Each player has four tokens of one colour, and everyone shares a single die. Our printable is a simplified board with numbered yards, start squares and home columns; use buttons or the cut-out tokens.
Setup
Each player takes a colour and places their four tokens in the matching yard. The start square for each colour is the first square of the loop next to that yard (marked with the player’s number on our board). Everyone rolls the die once; the highest roll goes first and play continues clockwise.
How to play
On your turn, roll the die once and move one token the number shown.
Entering a token
A token leaves the yard only on a roll of six. It is placed on your start square, and because a six always gives another roll, you then roll again. If you have no token on the board and do not roll a six, your turn passes.
Moving
Tokens travel clockwise around the loop. You may choose any of your tokens in play, but you must move if any legal move exists. Two of your tokens may share a square.
Capturing
If your token ends its move on a square occupied by a single enemy token, that token is sent back to its yard and must roll a six to come out again. Tokens cannot be captured on the start squares or safe squares (the starred squares on our board); on those, tokens of different colours simply share the space. Nothing can enter a home column except the tokens of its colour, so those squares are always safe.
Sixes
Every six earns an extra roll. Three sixes in a row is too much luck: the third six is lost and the turn ends without moving.
Coming home
After a full lap a token turns off the loop into its own home column and up to the centre triangle. The final square needs an exact roll: a token two squares from the centre only finishes on a 2. If the roll is too big, move a different token or lose the move.
Scoring and winning
The first player to bring all four tokens into the centre wins. The others usually keep playing for second and third place. There are no points, although some families play a series and give 3, 2 and 1 points for the first three places.
Common variants
- Blocks: two tokens of the same colour on one square form a block that no token may pass or land on. This comes from Parcheesi and Mensch ärgere Dich nicht.
- Capture bonus: in some rules, capturing a token or bringing one home earns an extra roll or a bonus move.
- No safe squares: the oldest British rules have none; only the start squares protect you.
- Parcheesi (Hasbro): two dice, tokens enter on a 5, doubles give an extra turn, a capture earns a 20-square bonus and bringing a piece home earns 10.
- Sorry! (Hasbro): the same race with cards instead of dice and “sliding” squares.
- Overshoot bounce: in some German and Indian rules a token that rolls past the centre bounces back the extra squares.
Tips for first games
- Get a second token out as soon as you can, so that a six or an awkward roll always has a use.
- A token sitting on your start square or a safe square costs the opponents nothing; a token one to six squares ahead of an enemy is a target.
- Chase when you are behind the enemy, run when you are ahead of them.
- Spread your rolls: four tokens moving a little are safer than one token far ahead.
- Count the home stretch: park tokens so that common rolls (not just one number) will bring them in.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a six to start? Yes, in standard Ludo. A common house rule for small children is that a 1 also lets a token out.
Do I have to move if I don’t want to? Yes, if any token can legally move. You only pass when no move is possible.
What happens with three sixes in a row? The third six is lost and your turn ends. The first two moves stand.
Can tokens pass over other tokens? Yes. Tokens jump over everything unless you play the blocks variant.
How is Ludo different from Parcheesi? Ludo uses one die and enters on a six; Parcheesi uses two dice, enters on a five, and has blockades and bonus moves. Both come from the Indian game pachisi.
