How to play snakes and ladders online with friends

Snakes and ladders is the simplest race game there is, and that is exactly why it works. You roll a die, move that many squares, and hope the board is kind. There are no decisions to agonise over, so a seven-year-old and a grandparent play on equal terms. On inkmate you can play it free with no sign-up, on one phone or with friends in a private room.

The goal

Everyone starts off the board. The first player to land exactly on square 100 wins. The board is a ten-by-ten grid numbered from 1 in the bottom corner, snaking back and forth row by row up to 100 at the top.

How a turn works

Roll the die and move your token forward that many squares.
If you land at the bottom of a ladder, climb it to the top.
If you land on a snake’s head, slide down to its tail.
If you rolled a six, you take another turn straight away.
Then it is the next player’s turn.

Several tokens can share a square, and nobody gets bumped. Unlike ludo, there is no fighting here, only luck.

Finishing exactly

You have to land on 100 with an exact roll. If your roll would take you past 100, you stay where you are and wait for your next turn. This is the part that makes the last few squares tense, because you can sit on 97 for a while, hoping for a three. Landing on 100 by way of a ladder counts too.

The inkmate board

The board on inkmate has nine ladders and ten snakes. Some are tiny: a ladder from 4 to 14 gives you an early boost. Some are huge: the ladder from 28 up to 84 can nearly win you the game on a single roll, while the snake from 87 down to 24 can undo most of your progress in one slide. The ladder from 80 goes straight to 100, so landing on 80 finishes the game. Snakes sit very close to the end, at 93, 95 and 98, which keeps the finish nervous until the last roll.

Ways to play on inkmate

Against bots: choose snakes and ladders, pick how many players, and doodle bots take the empty seats. They roll for themselves at a human-ish pace.
One phone: with the together option, up to four people pass a single device and roll on their turn.
Private room: make a room, share the code and play with up to six people on their own devices. In rooms the server rolls every die, so nobody can nudge a roll, including the host.

A game takes roughly five to fifteen minutes, so it works as a quick warm-up before a longer game or as something to play while chatting on a call.

Is there any strategy?

Honestly, no. Every move is forced by the die, so skill does not matter. That is the charm. What you can do is manage the mood: cheer for ladders, groan at snakes and hand the phone over fast. Players who are used to chess or carrom often find it a relief to play something where losing is never their fault.

Tips for a better game

Play with six. A bigger table means more drama and more chances for a shared snake disaster.
Agree house rules before you start. Some families let a six give an extra turn, as inkmate does; others do not.
Use it to introduce young kids to counting, taking turns and losing gracefully.
Keep a running tally in a room and play a best-of-five. The scoreboard stays on the room screen.

tip: Want to know where the game comes from? It began in India as a teaching game. Read the full story in snakes and ladders history and its Indian origin.

Ready? Roll your first die and see which side of the snake you land on.