How to play Ludo: the rules step by step, and where to practise

To learn how to play Ludo, remember one goal: move all your tokens from your base, once around the board and into your home column before anyone else does. You roll one die, need a 6 to get a token started, and can knock rivals back to their base by landing on them.

That is the whole game in two sentences. The rest is detail, and the detail is where family arguments start, so below are the common rules step by step, plus a free way to practise them against computer players without setting up a board.

What you need

A Ludo board has four coloured corners, one per player. Each corner holds a base with tokens, and each colour has its own home column leading to the centre. Two to four people can play. The classic game gives everyone 4 tokens.

Ludo rules step by step

1. Pick colours and decide who starts. Many families let the highest roll go first; play then passes around the board in order.
2. Leave your base with a 6. Until you roll a 6, your tokens stay put. A 6 places one token on your start square.
3. Move by the number rolled. Choose any token in play and move it that many squares along the track.
4. Capture by landing exactly. If your token ends its move on a square held by an opponent's token, that token goes back to its base and must wait for another 6.
5. Use safe squares. Start squares and star squares are safe, so a token sitting there cannot be captured.
6. Earn bonus rolls. Rolling a 6, capturing a token or bringing a token home gives you an extra roll.
7. Watch for three 6s. Roll 6 three times in a row and you lose the turn.
8. Finish with an exact roll. A token enters home only with the precise number it needs. Too high and it cannot move.

The first player to bring every token home wins. Some groups keep playing to decide second and third place.

Common house variations

Agree on these before the first roll. It saves time later.

A few beginner tips

• Get more than one token out early, so a single bad roll does not stall you.
• Keep tokens on safe squares when an opponent sits a few spaces behind.
• When you have a choice, a capture that also earns a bonus roll is usually worth taking.
• Near the end, think about which token needs which number, since exact rolls decide who finishes first.

Practise against the computer

The easiest way to try these rules is a browser game that already enforces them. Courtyard Ludo on Mayavoo uses the same set described above: a 6 to come out, captures, safe stars and start squares, bonus rolls and the three-6s penalty. You can face four computer characters (the Tiger, the Peacock, the Monkey and the Elephant), or pass the device around with 2 to 4 people. A quick game option cuts each player to 2 tokens.

It runs on desktop, phone and tablet with no download and no sign-up, and Mayavoo is free. On a keyboard you roll with Space or Enter and pick tokens with Tab or the arrow keys; on a touch screen you tap the die and then a glowing token.

One limit to know: Courtyard Ludo has no online play. If you want to learn with a friend who lives elsewhere, a Ludo app with online rooms is the better choice. For learning alone or teaching someone next to you, the browser game is the simplest start.