Ludo strategy: how to win more games with smarter moves

Ludo is a dice game, so nobody wins every time. But the die only tells you how far you can move. You still choose which token moves, and over many games those choices decide a lot. This guide assumes you know the basics (if not, start with ludo rules for beginners) and focuses on the decisions that actually matter.

Think in terms of options

The most useful thing in ludo is having more than one legal move. With a single token out, your roll is forced. With two or three, you can choose to capture, hide, advance or hold. So the first principle is simple: when you roll a six, usually bring out another token rather than moving the one you already have.

There are exceptions. If your only token is about to be captured, or a six lets you capture something valuable, take that instead. But as a default, more tokens on the board means more control.

A priority list for each roll

When you roll, scan your moves in roughly this order. It is not a law, just a good habit.

Can I move a token into home or the home column? Safe progress is real progress.
Can I capture a token that has travelled far? Capturing a token near its home sets the owner back many turns and often needs several sixes to recover.
Is one of my tokens in danger? Move it to a safe square or out of range.
Can I bring a token out of the base? Do it on a six unless something above matters more.
Otherwise, advance the token that improves my position most without leaving it exposed.

Understand danger zones

A die shows one to six, so an opponent can only capture a token that sits one to six squares ahead of one of theirs. Anything further away is, for this turn, out of immediate reach. Learn to glance behind your tokens: if an opponent has a token five squares back, your token is in range and it is a one-in-six chance, roughly, that they roll exactly that number. Two opponent tokens in range of the same square make it nearly twice as likely.

This is why sitting just in front of an enemy token is the most dangerous place to be, and sitting well beyond six squares ahead of it is fairly safe. A token that is on a safe square can be ignored altogether.

Use safe squares well

Park a token on a safe square when enemies are close behind and you have another useful move.
Use safe squares as stepping stones. If you can plan a route that hops between safe squares, you travel the most dangerous stretch with little risk.
Do not stay parked forever. A token that never moves is a token that never finishes.
Remember that a safe square protects tokens of all colours, so you cannot capture there either.

Capturing: when to chase and when not to

Capturing is the fun part, but chasing has a cost. Pushing a token ahead to hit an enemy can leave it in front of two other enemies. Before a capture, ask what the new square looks like: who is behind it, and within range? A good capture sends a valuable token home and leaves yours safe or hard to reach. A bad one trades a fresh token of theirs for your hard-won leader.

Also note the value is lopsided. Capturing a token that has just left the base costs its owner little, because they only need another six. Capturing one that has nearly completed the lap costs them dearly. Aim for the second kind.

The endgame

Near the end, exact rolls become the bottleneck. A token a few squares from home can only use rolls up to that distance, so one token left three squares short waits for a one, two or three. Two tokens at different distances from home improve your odds, because more numbers are useful on any turn. Try not to bring all your tokens into the home column at the same distance. Spread them out.

Leaving a lone token as the last one on the track is risky too, since you are forced to move it with every roll, whether or not it is safe. If you can, keep a second token in play so you always have a choice.

Playing with more players

With six people at the table, the track is crowded. There are more captures, fewer safe stretches and longer waits between your turns. In that setting, patience is rewarded: keep tokens on safe squares until a clear run opens up, and do not feel pressured to rush. Try it with friends in a private room of up to six on inkmate ludo.

tip: Playing against doodle bots is good practice. The sharper bots avoid obvious danger, so beating them teaches you to do the same.

Keep it fun

Even a perfect strategy cannot defeat a streak of sixes, and that is part of why ludo lasts. If you want a pure-luck alternative, snakes and ladders is entirely the dice. If you want more skill, try chess or carrom. For the quick overview of playing ludo online, see how to play ludo.