Ludo Rules: How to Play, House Rules and Odds
Ludo is a race game for two to four players. Each player tries to move four tokens all the way round the board and into their home column before anyone else. It looks like pure luck, and the die does most of the work, but unlike Snakes and Ladders you do get to choose which token to move, and that choice wins games.
What You Need
- A Ludo board: a cross-shaped track with a coloured base in each corner and a home column for each colour.
- Four tokens in each player’s colour.
- One six-sided die, or our Dice Roller set to one die.
How to Play
- Set up. Each player puts their four tokens in their base.
- Decide who starts. Usually everyone rolls and the highest roll goes first, then play passes clockwise. See more ways to decide who goes first.
- Roll a 6 to come out. A token can only leave the base onto your start square when you roll a 6.
- Move round the board. On your turn, roll and move one of your tokens on the track that many squares clockwise.
- A 6 gives an extra roll. After a 6 you roll again. You can use the 6 to bring a new token out or to move one already on the track.
- Capture. If your token lands exactly on a square with an opponent’s token, that token goes back to its base and must wait for another 6.
- Go home. After a full lap, a token turns into its own home column. The first player to bring all four tokens home wins.
Common House Rules
Ludo boxes, apps and families all play slightly differently. Agree on these before you start:
- Three tries: while all your tokens are in base, you may roll up to three times on your turn to get a 6.
- Three 6s in a row: in many games, a third 6 in a row ends your turn without a move.
- Safe squares: on many boards, starred squares and start squares are safe, so nobody can be captured there.
- Blocks: in some versions, two tokens of the same colour on one square form a block that others cannot pass.
- Exact roll home: often you need the exact number to land on the final home square.
- Bonus rolls: some players give an extra roll for a capture or for bringing a token home.
The Odds of Rolling a 6
Waiting for a 6 is the most frustrating part of Ludo. Each roll has a 1 in 6 chance, and the chance of getting at least one grows with each try:
| Rolls | Chance of at least one 6 |
|---|---|
| 1 | 16.7% |
| 2 | 30.6% |
| 3 | 42.1% |
| 5 | 59.8% |
| 10 | 83.8% |
With the three-tries rule, you get out on about 42% of turns, so you wait about 2.4 turns on average. Without it, the average wait is 6 turns, and about one player in six is still stuck in base after 10 turns. A long wait does not make a 6 more likely on the next roll; that is the gambler’s fallacy.
Three 6s in a row happen on about 1 turn in 216 (about 0.46%), so the rule that ends your turn on a third 6 rarely matters.
Simple Strategy
How far away is an opponent who could capture you? This table assumes they can move a token any number of squares the die allows and ignores safe squares and blocks:
| Opponent is this many squares ahead | Chance you can land on them this turn |
|---|---|
| 1 to 6 | about 17% (one exact roll) |
| 7 to 12 | about 3% (a 6, then the rest) |
| 13 or more | under 0.5% (two 6s first) |
- Stay more than 6 squares ahead of opponents when you can. Within 6 squares, they hit you with one exact roll.
- Get more than one token out. With choices, you can capture, escape or wait on a safe square instead of making a forced bad move.
- Capture when you can, especially a token that has nearly finished its lap. Sending it home costs its owner a lot.
- Use safe squares as resting points, and do not rush a single token round alone.
- Don’t leave a token just past an opponent’s start square, where new tokens come out on a 6.
For more about how dice rolls work, see our guide to dice probability.
Where Ludo Comes From
Ludo is a simpler version of Pachisi, a cross-and-circle race game from India that is centuries old. Pachisi was traditionally played with cowrie shells instead of dice, and the number of shells landing mouth up decided the move. Versions of the game spread around the world: it was sold in England as Ludo from the late 19th century, in the United States as Parcheesi, and in Germany as Mensch ärgere dich nicht ("Don’t get annoyed").
Today Ludo is also hugely popular as a phone game, especially in India. For more family dice games, see our list of easy dice games.
FAQ
How do you play Ludo?
Each player has four tokens in a base. Roll a 6 to bring a token out, then move tokens round the board by the number rolled. Landing on an opponent sends their token back to base. The first player to bring all four tokens into their home column wins.
Do you need a 6 to start in Ludo?
In the standard rules, yes: a token can only leave the base on a 6. Many players allow three tries per turn while all their tokens are still in base.
What happens if you roll three 6s in a row in Ludo?
In many house rules, a third 6 in a row ends your turn and you do not move. It happens on only about 1 turn in 216.
Is Ludo just luck?
Mostly, but not completely. The die decides how far you move, but you choose which token to move, when to capture and when to stay on a safe square, and those choices matter.
What is the difference between Ludo and Parcheesi?
Both come from the Indian game Pachisi. Parcheesi is the American version and often uses two dice; Ludo is the simpler British version with one die.