How to Play Ludo: Complete Rules for Beginners

To play Ludo, each player moves four tokens from their home, clockwise around the board and up their own coloured lane to the centre. You need a 6 to bring a token out, you capture an opponent by landing on its square, and the first player to get all four tokens to the centre wins. The rules fit on one page, but a few details (safe squares, extra rolls, exact finishing) decide most games. This guide explains all of them in the order you meet them.

The board and the pieces

A Ludo board is a cross-shaped track of 52 squares around four coloured corners. Each corner is a player’s home (also called the yard) and holds four tokens. In the middle of each arm is a coloured lane of five squares that leads to the triangle in the centre. Only the player of that colour can enter their lane.

Every player also has a coloured start square just outside their home. That is where a token appears when it leaves the yard.

Starting the game

Players take turns clockwise. On your turn you roll one die. All tokens start at home, so at the beginning you can only move when you roll a 6. A 6 lets you place one token on your start square, and then you roll again.

If you roll anything else and have no token on the board, your turn simply passes.

Moving your tokens

Move one token forward by the number you rolled. If you have several tokens on the board, you choose which one to move. You cannot split a roll between two tokens, and you must move if any move is possible.

Tokens travel clockwise around the whole board. When a token comes back near its own corner, it turns into its coloured lane instead of starting another lap.

Capturing

If your token ends its move on a square with an opponent’s token, the opponent’s token is captured and goes back to its home. It will need another 6 to come out again. A capture also gives you an extra roll.

Captures only count where you finish your move. Passing over a token does nothing.

Safe squares

Some squares are safe: the coloured start squares and the squares marked with a star. A token standing on a safe square cannot be captured, and several tokens of different colours can share it.

Extra rolls and the three-sixes rule

• Rolling a 6 gives you another roll after your move.
• Capturing a token gives you another roll.
• Bringing a token to the centre gives you another roll.
• Three 6s in a row cancel your turn, so you cannot run away with endless sixes.

Finishing

To get a token into the centre you need the exact number. If your token is three squares from the centre, only a 3 moves it home; a 5 cannot be used on that token. This is why the last few squares often take several turns.

The first player to bring all four tokens home wins. In most online games, including Ludo Live, play continues so the others can fight for second and third place.

A quick example turn

You roll a 6 and bring your second token out. Because it was a 6 you roll again and get a 4. Your first token is four squares behind a blue token that is not on a star, so you move it forward, capture the blue token and roll once more. A 2 moves the same token onto a star square, where it is safe until your next turn.

Try it yourself

The fastest way to learn is to play a few games where the rules are checked for you. Open Ludo Live, choose vs Computer on Easy level, and the game will only let you make legal moves while you get used to them.

Frequently asked questions