Ludo
Race all four tokens home before three computer rivals in classic Ludo.
How to play Ludo
You play green, in the bottom-left corner; the computer takes red, blue and yellow. Click the DICE (or press Space) to roll. You need a six to move a token out of its yard, and every six earns another roll. Move a token clockwise around the white track, then up your own green home lane to the centre. You must roll the exact number to reach the centre. Land on a lone rival token (except on a star safe-cell) to send it back to its yard. The first player to bring all four tokens home wins.
Waiting on a six
Ludo starts with all four of your tokens stuck in the yard, and the only key out is a six. Every turn you roll one die (click the dice or press Space), and until a six turns up your tokens cannot move, which is why the opening can feel like pure luck. It partly is. But a six also earns another roll, so a lucky start compounds, and how you spend those bonus rolls is where the real game begins. The standard advice is worth following: use your early sixes to bring a second and then a third token onto the track rather than sprinting one runner ahead. One lone token is one capture away from total ruin. Three tokens in play give every future roll a choice, and choices are what turn dice luck into decisions.
Count backwards from every rival
Land on a square holding a single enemy token and you knock it back to its yard to start over, a swing worth half a lap or more. The starred safe cells are the exception, since tokens standing there cannot be captured. The habit that wins games is counting backwards. Before you end a move, look six squares behind each of your exposed tokens. Any rival inside that window can catch you with one roll, and a rival exactly four or five back is the biggest threat, because middle numbers come up as often as anything else. Here is a worked moment. You roll a 3. Token A moves to a plain square with an enemy five squares behind it. Token B moves to a star. The star move looks passive, but the board says A gets captured on a rolled 5, so parking B safely while A stays put (or moving A the 3 to leave that window) is the percentage play. The same count works in attack: finish moves that leave you a middle-number roll behind a rival, and let the odds hunt for you. Keep the odds honest in your head, too. Any single number is a one-in-six shot per roll, so a token sitting one window behind a rival is not a sure capture, just a threat, but three of your tokens each holding a different window over the same rival turns a maybe into a probably.
- Spread your tokens. A back token guards your side of the track while the leaders run.
- Park on stars when rivals are close behind; step off when the road behind is clear.
- Prefer captures over progress in the midgame. Sending a rival home gains you a full lap of relative distance.
- With three computer rivals on one track, recount the threats after every single move, because the windows shift each turn.
The exact-roll endgame
Reaching the centre needs an exact roll, and overshooting means the token cannot move at all. This is where careless winners stall. If your token sits three from home, only a 3 finishes it, and every other roll must be spent elsewhere, so keep a second token with distance left as a place to dump useless numbers. Better, plan the approach: arriving in your home column on varied counts (one token needing 2, another needing 5) doubles your chance that any given roll finishes something. Racing all four tokens to need the same number is the classic self-inflicted defeat.
An ancient race
Ludo is the tidy Victorian version of Pachisi, a cross-and-circle race game played across India for centuries on embroidered cloth boards, with cowrie shells thrown as dice. The Mughal emperor Akbar is said to have played it life-size at Fatehpur Sikri in the 1500s, with courtyard squares of inlaid stone and members of his court moving about as the pieces. The English adaptation swapped shells for a die, simplified the rules, and was registered under the name Ludo (Latin for I play) in the 1890s, becoming a nursery standard soon after. The same family tree includes Parcheesi in America and Mensch argere Dich nicht in Germany, whose title translates roughly as Man, do not get annoyed. That name is honest. The heart of the game is unchanged after four centuries: four tokens, one shared track, and the small cruelty of knocking a rival home just as they close in on the finish.
Ludo leaderboard
Top scores. Log in to compete.
- Loading leaderboard…
Ludo: frequently asked questions
How do I get a token onto the board?
You must roll a six to release a token from your yard. Rolling a six also gives you an extra roll, so you can release and then move in the same turn.
How do I capture an opponent?
Move a token so it lands exactly on a square occupied by a single enemy token. That token is sent home and must start again. Tokens sitting on a star (safe) cell cannot be captured.
How do I tell the players apart?
Each side has both its own colour and its own token shape, so the board stays readable if colours are hard to tell apart: you are the green circles, and the computer players are the red squares, blue triangles and yellow diamonds.
Do I have to roll the exact number to finish?
Yes. To move a token into the centre home it must reach it by an exact count; if your roll would overshoot, that token cannot move and you may have to play another token instead.
Why can I not move my tokens?
You need to roll a six to release a token from its yard onto the track. Until then your tokens stay put, so the first job every game is fishing for a six.
What does rolling a six do besides freeing a token?
It also grants you an extra roll. That means a six can both bring a token into play and immediately let you move again, so good rolls tend to snowball.
How do I capture an opponent's token?
Land your token on a square occupied by a single enemy token and it is sent back to its yard to start over. This does not work on the starred safe cells, where tokens are protected.
Is it better to rush one token or spread them out?
Spread them. Use early sixes to bring two or three tokens onto the track, because a single runner is one capture away from losing everything, while spread tokens give every roll a useful option and let you threaten rivals in several places.
Why can I not get my token into the centre?
The final step home requires an exact roll. If the number you roll would carry the token past the centre, it cannot move, so line up your approach to hit the precise count needed.
How many players am I up against?
Three computer opponents, each with their own tone and token shape. All four of you share the same track, so the board stays crowded and captures are common.
Is Ludo free to play?
Yes. Ludo is completely free on Inkplay, with no download, no sign-up, and no in-game purchases. Open the page and play instantly on desktop or mobile.
Can I play Ludo unblocked?
Yes. Ludo runs entirely in your browser with no download, install, or plugins, so it loads instantly and keeps working even on school or work networks where bigger game sites get blocked.
More games to play
In the mood for more? Try Chess, Tic Tac Toe, Connect Four, Reversi, or browse all board games and the full games list on Inkplay.