How to Play Ludo

By Jaques of London · Est. 1795 · Updated 2026-08-17

Jaques of London was among the first to publish Ludo in Britain.

Ludo is a classic race board game for two to four players, played on a cross-shaped board divided into coloured home areas, a shared track, and a central finishing zone. Each player controls four tokens and must get all of them around the full circuit and safely home before anyone else does. The rules are simple enough for young children yet the game generates enough tension, with tokens being sent back to base at the last moment, to keep adults genuinely invested.

Jaques of London was among the first to publish Ludo in Britain. The game is a firm fixture at family tables, on holiday, and in classrooms, requiring no reading ability and next to no setup time. That accessibility, combined with the satisfying mix of luck and tactical choice, explains why it has remained a household staple for well over a century.

A little history

Ludo is derived from Pachisi, a cross-and-circle race game that has been played on the Indian subcontinent for many centuries. The precise process by which Pachisi was adapted into the simplified form now known as Ludo and introduced to Britain is not fully documented, though the game was patented in England in 1896. Pachisi itself uses cowrie shells as randomisers and a cloth board, whereas the Western adaptation replaced these with a standard die and a printed cardboard board, making mass production straightforward. Beyond those broad facts, the early commercial history is not comprehensively recorded.

Setting up

1. Place the board flat in the centre of the table so each player can sit opposite their coloured home area.
2. Each player chooses a colour and takes the four tokens of that colour.
3. Place all four of your tokens in the large coloured circle in your corner of the board. This is your starting yard.
4. Identify your coloured entry square: the single square at the start of the main track nearest your yard. Tokens must pass through this square when entering play.
5. Identify your home column: the coloured squares leading from the main track into the centre finishing zone. Only your own tokens may enter your home column.
6. Decide who goes first. The most common method is each player rolling the die once; highest roll starts. Play proceeds clockwise.
7. Place the die within easy reach of all players. You are ready to play.

How to play

1. On your turn, roll the die once.
2. To move a token out of your yard and onto your entry square, you must roll a six. If all your tokens are still in the yard and you do not roll a six, your turn ends.
3. When you roll a six you must either bring a new token into play on your entry square, or move a token already on the board six squares. You then roll again as a bonus roll.
4. A bonus roll is earned every time you roll a six. There is no limit to consecutive sixes, but on a third consecutive six in some standard sets the turn ends with no move made and play passes left. Check your set's printed rules, as some sets omit this rule entirely.
5. On any roll that is not a six, move one token already on the board forward by exactly the number shown. You may not split a roll between two tokens.
6. If the number rolled would take a token beyond the end of the home column, that token cannot move. You must move a different token, or if no legal move exists your turn ends.
7. Tokens move clockwise around the outer track, then turn into their own coloured home column when they complete the circuit.
8. If your token lands on a square occupied by an opponent's token, the opponent's token is sent back to their yard and must re-enter by rolling a six. The player who sends a token home earns a bonus roll.
9. If your token lands on a square already occupied by one of your own tokens, the move is not permitted. You must move a different token instead, or lose your turn if no other legal move exists.
10. Safe squares exist on most standard boards, typically the entry squares and sometimes shaded or starred squares on the main track. A token on a safe square cannot be captured.
11. Once a token reaches the foot of its home column, move it along the coloured squares toward the central finishing zone on subsequent turns.
12. A token enters the finishing zone only when you roll the exact number needed to land on the central space. If you overshoot, the token stays where it is.
13. When a token reaches the centre, stand it upright or place it in the finishing zone as indicated by your board. It is now safely home and takes no further part in play.
14. Continue until all four of your tokens are home.

Winning and scoring

The first player to move all four of their tokens into the central finishing zone wins the game. A token enters the centre only on an exact roll: if the number is too high, the token does not move that turn. There is no points system in the standard game. If players wish to continue after the winner is decided, play can carry on to determine second and third place, which is common in family play.

The fine points

The most common dispute involves the triple-six rule. Some printed sets state that rolling three sixes in a row ends your turn with no move and sends no token to the yard; others omit this entirely. Agree on this before play starts. A related question is whether a six earned by sending an opponent home stacks with a six earned from the die: the standard ruling is that any bonus roll is a single extra roll, and they do not accumulate beyond one at a time unless another six is then rolled on that bonus roll.

Blockades, where two tokens of the same colour occupy the same square to form an impassable barrier, are not part of the standard British Ludo rules, though they appear in some regional variants. In standard play, landing on your own token is simply not permitted as a move, not a blockade mechanic. The exact-roll rule for entering the centre is firm: there is no 'bounce back' in standard rules. If you cannot enter and have no other legal move, your turn passes.

How to win more often

• Bring tokens out of the yard promptly. A token in the yard scores nothing and cannot threaten opponents. Use every six to release a new piece until you have at least two on the board.
• Spread your tokens across the board rather than clustering them. Clustering means one good capture by an opponent can set you back disproportionately.
• Prioritise moving a token that is close to completing the circuit before advancing tokens that have barely started, particularly when you have a choice of move.
• Target the token of the leader, not the one nearest you. Sending back a player who is close to winning buys you more time than sending back one who has barely started.
• When two of your tokens are adjacent and one is vulnerable, consider moving the rearmost one forward to provide cover rather than advancing your lead token into danger.

Variations

Teams

With four players, those sitting opposite each other play as partners. A pair wins as soon as the combined eight tokens of both partners are all in the finishing zone. This variant rewards coordinated decisions about when to chase opponents versus advancing your own tokens, and tends to produce longer, more tactical games.

Strict Three Sixes

Under this widely played house rule, rolling three sixes consecutively immediately ends your turn, your last moved token (or a token of the active player's choice) is returned to the yard, and play passes left. This prevents runaway turns and adds a small element of risk management when you hold multiple sixes in a row.

Blockade

Borrowed from Pachisi and popular in some households, this variant allows two tokens of the same colour occupying the same square to form a blockade. No other token, including your own other tokens, may pass or land on a blockade square until one of the two tokens moves on. This gives defenders a meaningful tool and changes the tactical balance significantly.

Fast Start

To reduce the early frustration of waiting to roll a six, this variant allows each player to place one token directly onto their entry square before the game begins, with no roll required. All remaining tokens still need a six to enter. The game reaches its interesting middle phase more quickly, making this a good option when playing with younger children.

Ludo: frequently asked questions