Ludo Game: how to play

Ludo is the classic ludo board game, free to play online in your browser. Roll the dice, bring your four red tokens out of their base, race them once round the cross-shaped board and up your home path, and get them all home before anyone else. Lulu, a bright little ludo token, cheers you on against three friendly bots through five cheerful places, from Picnic Park to Rainbow Castle, and you can play ludo with a friend on one device too.

How to play

• To play ludo online, tap anywhere on the board (or press Space) to roll the die. You need a 6 to bring a token out of your base onto your start square. A 6 also gives you another roll.
• Then tap a glowing token (or the ring where it will land) to move it that many squares, clockwise round the board. When only one move is possible, AUTO-MOVE plays it for you; switch it off under the board if you like to tap every move. With a keyboard, press 1 to 4 for a token, or the arrow keys and Enter.
• Land on a lone token of another colour to send it back to its base, and roll again. The coloured start squares and the ★ squares are safe: nobody gets sent home there.
• After one lap your token turns up your own coloured home path, where it is safe, and needs the exact number to reach home in the middle.
• Get all four tokens home first to clear the level. If a bot gets all four home first, you lose one of your three hearts and play that level again; every rematch the bots go a little easier on you and one more of your tokens starts out of the base. Each turn has a 15 second clock, and three missed turns in a row lose the game.
• Points: 1 for every square you move, 50 for every token you send home, 100 for every token you get home, and 250 times the level number for winning. Three stars per level: win it, keep all your hearts, and beat the target time.
• 2 players: pick 2 players on the start screen and take turns on one phone, tablet or computer, red against yellow, with fresh dice every game. Green and blue sit out, and nothing is saved.

The five levels

1. Picnic Park: the bots wander and never send you home: learn to roll a 6 and race home
2. Toy Town: now the bots send tokens home too (sometimes yours)
3. Sunny Beach: the ★ squares: stop on them to stay safe
4. Balloon Fair: the bots chase you: hop away from tokens right behind you
5. Rainbow Castle: the bots play their best

Clear Rainbow Castle and the five places come round again: in lap 2 and after, the bots slip up much less and send you home far more often. You have three hearts for the whole run, and the game is the same for everyone each day, so you can compare scores. Press M to turn the sound off or on.

Tips

• Bring a new token out with every 6 early on: more tokens on the board means more choices later.
• Look behind your tokens. A rival one to six squares back can land on you, so step onto a ★ or a start square when you can.
• Sending a rival home is worth it twice: they go back to base and you roll again.
• Once a token is on your home path it is safe, so move the tokens still out on the track first.

Questions

Is this ludo game free?

Yes. Ludo is free to play online in your browser: no download, no sign-up and nothing to buy.

Can I play ludo online on my phone?

Yes. Tap to roll and tap a token to move. It works on phones, tablets and computers; on an upright phone the players sit above and below the board.

Can I play ludo with a friend?

Yes. Pick 2 players on the start screen and take turns on one device, red against yellow. It is the classic ludo board game for two, with fresh dice every game.

Is the dice fair?

Yes. Every roll is a plain 1 to 6, the same dice for you and the bots, and the dice are the same for everyone each day. The bots never peek: they only pick which token to move.