Ludo is easier to learn than it first looks. Once you understand how a token gets onto the track, what sends it back, and why some turns keep going, you already know enough to finish a first game. This table is two-player Ludo: Red versus Yellow, one square per pip, with no same-color jumps and no flights across the board.
30-second quick start
If you want to start immediately, do not try to memorise the whole page. Hold onto these five points, play a game, and the rest will make much more sense as you go:
- Red always rolls first. If you choose Yellow against AI, the AI takes the opening turn.
- Each turn is simple: roll once, then tap one highlighted token. A highlighted token can legally use that number.
- A token in base needs a 6 to leave. On a 6, you may launch a new token or spend the 6 on one already on the track.
- Landing on an opponent off a safe square sends that token back to base. Takeoff squares and the four stars are safe.
- The first player to get all four tokens home wins, and the last step onto home must be exact.
For game one, ask only three questions: can I launch on a 6, is this landing safe, and does this move finish a token exactly. If you can keep those in mind, you are already playing with purpose instead of just pushing pieces forward.
How to read the board
Getting comfortable with the board is what makes the first game stop feeling chaotic. This site uses a 15×15 cross-shaped board: the four corners are bases, the middle ring is the shared track, and the colored lanes leading inward are the home stretches. Only Red and Yellow play here, with four tokens each. The green and blue corners stay unused.
After leaving base, a token lands on its own takeoff square, runs clockwise around the shared ring, and then turns into its own home stretch. Once it enters that colored lane, there is no circling back out. The last step onto home has to match the remaining squares exactly, so an oversized roll must be used elsewhere or not at all.
How one turn works
Each turn has only two steps: roll, then choose one token that can legally use that number. The board highlights the legal choices for you, so a beginner does not have to calculate every path before touching a piece. If nothing lights up, the roll has no legal move and the turn passes.
A token in base leaves only on a 6. If you roll a 6 while other tokens are still waiting there, you may launch one of them, or you may spend the 6 on a token already moving. Your own tokens may share a square, so there is no risk in stacking them together.
Once a token enters the home stretch, it cannot be captured there, but it also cannot come back out. If the die is larger than the remaining squares to home, that token simply cannot use the roll. You must play another token if you can.
Captures and safe squares
The dramatic moments in Ludo are usually one roll away: can you land on them, or can they land on you? On the shared ring, landing exactly on an opponent who is not on a safe square sends that token back to base, and it will need another 6 to leave again. If several enemy tokens are stacked there, all of them go back together.
Safe squares are the four takeoff squares and the four stars on the ring. A token sitting there cannot be sent back, even if the opponent's number lands exactly on the same space. For a first game, learning when to stop on a star will save more races than chasing every tempting capture.
When you roll again
This site grants an extra roll in three cases: you roll a 6, you capture an opponent, or you finish a token. That is a big part of why Ludo feels lively. A turn that looked ordinary can suddenly become a launch, then a capture, then another decision straight away.
There is one trap worth remembering from the start: a third 6 in the same turn is void. It is not played, and the turn ends immediately. The moves made with the first two sixes stay on the board; only the third one is cancelled.
How to win
The winner is simply the first player to bring all four tokens home. There is no piece-counting score and no reward for being ahead with only one runner. The real task is getting every token home safely, not just making one look impressive.
In an online room, either player may resign or offer a draw. Against AI or on one device, you can resign or start over. If both players agree to a draw, the site records it as a draw.
How the Modes Differ
The rules stay the same in every mode. The home-page AI game adds hints, undo, and move-by-move replay. Same-device games keep undo and replay, but do not suggest moves for either player. Online rooms share one game state, roll the die in the room, and allow resignations or draw offers, but one player cannot undo alone.
If you just finished this page, the best next step is not another rules page. Open a game against AI, send a token out, see how a safe square changes the mood of a turn, and notice how a greedy capture can backfire. After one full race, the Ludo strategy guide will feel much more useful.
FAQ
Why can’t I leave base until I roll a 6?
Because a token in base may enter the track only on a 6 in this ruleset. Until then, if another token is already moving, you may spend a 6 on that token; otherwise you wait for the next roll.
Can a token on a safe square be captured?
No. Takeoff squares and the four stars are safe, so an opponent who lands there cannot send you back to base.
Why do I roll again after finishing a token?
This site gives another roll after a finish, a capture, or a 6. The extra roll still needs a legal move; if none exists, the turn ends.
What happens if I roll three sixes in a row?
The third 6 in the same turn is cancelled and is not played. The turn passes, and the moves already made with the first two sixes stay on the board.
Why can’t I jump or fly across the board?
Because those are Aeroplane Chess rules, not Ludo rules. This table moves one token one square per pip.
Does Red always start?
Every mode begins with Red rolling first. Against AI you may choose Red or Yellow; if you choose Yellow, the AI rolls first.
Who rolls the die in an online room?
The room rolls it, so both players see the same face. The browser cannot pick the number or change a roll on its own.