Snakes and Ladders: Rules, History and Odds
Snakes and Ladders is one of the oldest and simplest board games in the world. You roll a die, move your counter, climb up every ladder you land on and slide down every snake. There are no choices to make at all, so a four-year-old can beat an adult, and that is exactly why families love it. In the United States the same game is sold as Chutes and Ladders.
What You Need
- A Snakes and Ladders board, usually a grid of 100 squares numbered 1 to 100.
- One six-sided die.
- One counter per player. Two to four players is usual.
Lost the die? Our Dice Roller works on any phone, and you can set it to one die.
How to Play
- Start off the board. All counters begin just before square 1.
- Decide who goes first. Usually the highest roll starts. See our fair ways to decide who goes first for other ideas.
- Roll and move. On your turn, roll the die and move your counter that many squares forward, following the numbers.
- Ladders take you up. If you land on the bottom of a ladder, climb straight to the square at its top.
- Snakes take you down. If you land on the head of a snake, slide down to the square at its tail.
- Win on square 100. The first player to reach the last square wins.
Common House Rules
The printed rules differ from box to box, and many families have their own. Agree on these before you start:
- Exact roll to finish: in many versions you must land exactly on 100. If your roll is too big, you either stay put or count forward to 100 and then back again.
- Six to start: some families say you need a 6 to get onto the board.
- Roll again on a 6: a 6 gives you an extra turn. Some groups add that three 6s in a row send you back to the start.
- Sharing squares: usually any number of counters can sit on the same square. In some homes, landing on someone sends them back to the start.
How Long Does a Game Take?
Because nobody makes a decision, a game of Snakes and Ladders is pure chance, and its length can be worked out exactly. We did the maths for the classic Chutes and Ladders board (nine ladders and ten chutes), with one roll per turn and an exact roll needed to finish:
| One player on the classic board | Turns (rolls) |
|---|---|
| Fastest possible game | 7 |
| Fastest 10% of games | 15 or fewer |
| Typical (median) | 32 |
| Average | about 39 |
| Slowest 10% of games | 72 or more |
| Longer than 100 turns | about 3% of games |
So a single game can last 7 turns or well over 100, and the average is pulled up by the few very long games. With more players, someone usually wins sooner:
| Players | Average turns until someone wins |
|---|---|
| 1 | about 39 |
| 2 | about 26 |
| 3 | about 22 |
| 4 | about 19 |
Other boards have different snakes and ladders, so their numbers differ, but the pattern is the same. If you let players finish without an exact roll, the classic board gets a little quicker: about 36 turns on average for one player.
Is There Any Strategy?
No. Every move is forced by the die, so no player can do better than another. Going first gives a very small edge: in our simulation of 200,000 two-player games, the first player won about 51% of the time. That is why the game is so good for young children. It teaches counting, taking turns and losing gracefully, without anyone being better at it. For a race game with a few real choices, try Ludo.
A long run of snakes can feel unfair, but the die has no memory. A player who has slid down three snakes in a row is not "due" a ladder; see our guide to the gambler’s fallacy. For how the die itself works, read our page on dice probability.
Where the Game Comes From
Snakes and Ladders comes from India, where versions of the game, often called Moksha Patam or Gyan Chaupar, were played for centuries as a lesson about life. Ladders stood for good deeds and snakes for bad ones, and reaching the top square meant reaching freedom from the cycle of rebirth. Old boards often had more snakes than ladders, a reminder that doing good is harder than doing wrong.
The game reached Britain in the late 19th century, where it became a popular family game with a lighter, more playful look. Milton Bradley sold it in the United States as Chutes and Ladders from the 1940s, with playground chutes instead of snakes and pictures of children’s good and naughty deeds. Dice games have a long history of being used to hear the will of the gods, too; read about dice as oracles in the ancient world.
Playing with Young Children
- Let children count the squares out loud as they move, a simple way to practise counting to 100.
- Use the online dice on a tablet so the die never rolls off the table.
- Play to the first player past square 50 for a shorter game.
- For more ideas, see our lists of kids party games and easy dice games.
FAQ
How do you play Snakes and Ladders?
Players take turns rolling one die and moving forward that many squares. Landing at the bottom of a ladder takes you up it, and landing on a snake head takes you down to its tail. The first player to reach square 100 wins.
Do you need an exact roll to win Snakes and Ladders?
It depends on the house rules. Many families play that you must land exactly on 100; if your roll is too high, you stay where you are or bounce back. Agree before you start.
How long does a game of Snakes and Ladders take?
On the classic Chutes and Ladders board, one player needs about 39 turns on average, and the median is 32 turns. With four players, someone usually wins after about 19 turns.
Is there any skill in Snakes and Ladders?
No. Every move is decided by the die, so it is a game of pure chance. Going first gives only a tiny edge, about 51% in a two-player game.
Where does Snakes and Ladders come from?
It comes from India, where versions called Moksha Patam or Gyan Chaupar were used to teach about good and bad deeds. It became a family game in Britain in the late 19th century, and Chutes and Ladders in the United States.