Ludo rules for beginners: how to play, step by step

Ludo looks like a pile of coloured tokens on a cross-shaped board, but the rules fit in a few minutes. If you have never played, or you are teaching someone who has not, this guide goes through everything in the order you will need it. You can try each rule straight away in a free game of ludo on inkmate.

What you need

A ludo board has four coloured arms around a central square, usually red, green, yellow and blue. Each colour has a base (also called a yard or house) holding four tokens. You also need one six-sided die. Two to four people play on a standard board. Some versions, including the six-player boards on inkmate, add extra arms for bigger tables.

The goal

Bring all four of your tokens from your base, once around the board, and into your home column at the centre. The first player to do it wins in a classic game. Many groups carry on to decide second and third place too, which is how the game is ranked on inkmate.

Starting out

All tokens start in the base and cannot move until you roll a six. When you do, you take one token out and put it on your starting square, which is the coloured square at the beginning of your arm of the track. Until then, any other roll does nothing, and the die passes to the next player.

Taking a turn

Roll the die.
Move one token forward by exactly that number of squares, going around the track in the direction of play.
If you have more than one token out, you pick which one to move.
If you rolled a six, you get another roll after your move. On a six you may instead bring a new token out of the base.
Pass the die to the next player.

If a roll gives you no legal move, because all your tokens are still in the base or the number would take a token past home, the turn simply passes.

Capturing

If your token ends its move on a square holding an opponent’s token, you capture it. The captured token goes back to its owner’s base and has to wait for a six all over again. Moving through a square does not count; only where you finish matters.

Safe squares

Most boards mark certain squares as safe, usually with a star or a different colour. Tokens on a safe square cannot be captured, and tokens of different colours can sit there together. It is the main defence in the game.

Getting home

After a full lap, your token leaves the shared track and turns into your own home column, where nobody can touch it. The final square is the home triangle in the middle. In most rules you need to finish exactly: if a token is three squares from home and you roll a five, that token cannot use the roll. A token that has reached home stays there. When all four are home, you are done.

House rules to agree on before you start

Ludo has no single official rulebook, which is why families end up arguing. The common variations are worth settling out loud first.

Do you need a six to get out? Most say yes. Some let you start with a token already on the track.
Does a six always give you another roll? Usually yes. Some groups limit it to two or three sixes in a row, after which the turn ends.
Do you have to capture if you can? In classic rules, no. Some groups insist on it.
Do two of your own tokens on one square form a block? On some boards they do, and opponents cannot pass. Others ignore this.
Is it exact roll to finish, or can you overshoot? The exact-roll version is the most common.

On inkmate, the rules are fixed so you do not have to argue: you need a six to leave the base, a six gives another roll, landing on a rival captures it unless the square is safe, tokens cannot overshoot home, and a roll with no legal move is passed for you. In a room the server rolls the die, so nobody can accuse anyone of a convenient six.

A tiny worked example

You roll a three with nothing out: no move, and the die goes on. Next turn you roll a six, so you bring out a token and roll again. This time you get a four, and your only token moves four squares. Now an opponent’s token sits exactly four squares ahead of you. On your next turn, a four would capture it. They see this coming and use their next roll to run to a safe square. That mix of luck and small decisions is the whole game.

Where to go next

Once you know the rules, the choices are in which token to move. Our guide to ludo strategy covers that. If you want the quick launch overview of playing online, see play ludo online. And if you want something even simpler, snakes and ladders has no decisions at all.

tip: Teaching someone? Play the first game with open hands: say out loud why you are moving each token. It speeds up learning more than reading rules.