How to play
Ludo
Also known as Parcheesi, Parchis, Pachisi, Mensch argere Dich nicht
- 10M+ downloads
- On Google Play since 2024
- Free to play
What is Ludo?
Ludo is a race game for two to four players, each moving four tokens around a cross-shaped track and into the centre. A single die decides how far a token travels, and landing on an opponent sends that token back to the start. The rules below describe the standard modern game; house rules and regional versions differ on details such as safe squares, blocking and how the last square is reached.
How to play Ludo
Setting up the board
The board is a cross-shaped track with four coloured bases in the corners and a coloured home column leading to the centre. Each player takes a colour and starts with all four tokens in the matching base. Turn order is usually settled by each player rolling the die once, and play then passes to the left.
The rules, step by step
- Two to four players take one colour each and begin with all four of their tokens in their own base.
- On your turn roll one die. You need a 6 to bring a token out of the base onto your coloured starting square, so if you have no token on the track and do not roll a 6, your turn passes.
- Tokens travel clockwise around the outer track and always move the exact number of squares shown. You move one token per roll.
- Landing on a square holding a single opponent token captures it: that token goes back to its owner's base and needs another 6 to re-enter.
- Star squares, and in most versions each player's coloured starting square, are safe, and tokens standing on them cannot be captured. Many house rules also let two of your own tokens on one square form a block that opponents cannot pass.
- Rolling a 6 earns you another roll. In most versions three 6s in a row cancel the turn entirely.
- Once a token has completed the circuit it turns into its own coloured home column, and an exact roll is needed to land on the finish square; a roll that would overshoot cannot be played with that token.
How to win
The first player to bring all four tokens around the board and into the finish wins. The remaining players usually carry on to settle second and third place.
Strategy tips
- Spread your tokens instead of pushing one far ahead. Having two or three tokens on the track means almost every roll gives you a useful choice rather than a forced move.
- Use a 6 to bring out a new token early in the game, when the track ahead is still empty and there is little to gain from advancing a lone runner.
- Capture opponents who are close to their home entry. Sending back a token that has travelled most of the circuit costs your opponent far more than capturing one that has just left base.
- Park on safe squares when an enemy token sits one to six squares behind you. Anywhere else in that range you are simply hoping the die misses.
- Before moving, check the gap between each of your tokens and every enemy token. Counting those distances tells you which move is genuinely safe and which one hands over a capture.
Origin and history
Ludo belongs to the cross-and-circle family of race games and descends from the Indian games pachisi and chaupar, which were played with cowrie shells or long dice and were well established in India, including at the Mughal courts.
In the late 19th century British publishers simplified pachisi for a Western audience by replacing the shells with a single cubic die, and the result was patented and marketed in England as Ludo in 1896.
The name comes from the Latin ludo, meaning I play.
Close relatives are sold under other names worldwide, among them Parcheesi in the United States, Parchis in Spain and Mensch argere Dich nicht in Germany.
Frequently asked questions
In the standard game yes: a token must land exactly on the finish square, so a roll larger than the distance remaining cannot be used by that token and you move another token or pass. Some house rules let the token bounce back from the finish by the surplus instead. Agree which version you are playing before the game starts.
A 6 lets you bring a token out of your base onto your starting square, or move a token already on the track six squares, and you then take another roll. Consecutive 6s can chain several moves together in one turn. In most versions rolling three 6s in a row cancels the whole turn, which stops one player running away with the game.
Ludo is made for two to four players, one per colour, each with four tokens. Two-player games are quicker and more tactical because captures are harder to avoid, while four players makes the track crowded and the race less predictable.
No. A token standing on a star square, or in most versions on a player's coloured starting square, cannot be sent home, and an arriving token simply shares the square. The number and position of safe squares varies between boards, so check the markings on the one you are using.
The die makes any single game largely a matter of luck, but the decisions matter: which token to move, whether to take a capture, when to sit on a safe square and when to bring a fresh token out. Across a series of games, players who spread their tokens and time their captures win noticeably more often.
