How to play Ludo

1 player vs computer, or 4 online

Be the first to move all four of your tokens out of your corner, once round the shared track, and up your own home column to the middle of the board.

The rules, step by step

1. 1

   Tap the die to roll. You need a six to move a token out of your corner and onto your starting square.

2. 2

   Tokens that are already out move by whatever you roll. Tap a token to move it. The ones you are allowed to move are ringed.

3. 3

   Roll a six and you go again. So does capturing an opponent, and so does getting a token home. Three sixes in a row forfeits your turn.

4. 4

   Land on a square holding one opposing token and it goes back to its corner. The eight marked squares are safe, and nothing can be taken on them.

5. 5

   Two of your own tokens on the same square form a block. No opponent may land on it, or move a token past it.

6. 6

   After a full lap you turn up your own home column. You need the exact number to reach the middle. Too many and the token stays where it is.

Three tips that change how you play

• Get a second token out before you push the first one far. One token alone can be chased down the whole board, and you cannot make a block with it.
• Count backwards from an opponent before you move. Any square within six of one of their tokens is a square you can be taken on, and the safe squares are the only exceptions.
• Hold a block across the entrance to your own home column when you can. Every opponent has to come past that point, and a block there costs them turns they cannot get back.

Why the block is the whole game

Say you have two tokens on the same square, three squares before your own home column. An opponent has three tokens strung out behind you, the nearest five squares back. They roll a five. Normally that takes your token. Here it cannot even be played, because your block sits between them and every square beyond it. They roll again next turn and the same thing happens, and again the turn after. Every one of their tokens is stuck behind two of yours while your other two walk home unopposed. Now suppose instead you had split the block to move one token two squares further on. Their next roll takes the token you left behind, it goes back to the corner, and it needs a six to start again. The two positions differ by one move, and they are the difference between winning and starting over.

Three mistakes that cost beginners the game

Racing one token round on its own.

A single token can be captured at any point, and it loses the whole lap when it is. Bring a second one out at the first six and keep them within a few squares of each other, so that one can always land on the other and make a block.

Breaking a block because the move looks good.

A block is worth more than the squares you gain by dissolving it, especially near your home column. Move another token instead. If every other token is home or stuck, take the smaller move rather than the tempting one.

Parking just in front of an opponent because the square is empty.

Any square one to six ahead of an opposing token is a square they can take you on with a single roll. Stop short of them, or go past them, but do not sit in the window.

Common questions about Ludo