Ludo: rules, controls and strategy

Rules

• In Classic play, roll a six to move a token out of base.
• A six, a capture, or bringing a token home grants another turn.
• Three consecutive sixes pass the turn.
• Landing on an opponent outside a starred safe zone sends that token to base.
• A token must complete its route and enter its own home stretch; the winning requirement depends on the selected variant.

Keyboard, pointer and touch controls

Choose a variant, player count, colors, names, and human or bot roles. On a human turn, activate the dice button, then choose one of the highlighted legal tokens. All actions work with click, touch, or keyboard focus.

Scoring and saving

Ludo records a completed win or loss rather than a numeric board score. Signed-in human wins increase the Ludo win total and rating contribution through the backend. Local game outcomes remain client-authoritative.

Scores from browser games are bounded and synchronized by the backend, but local game outcomes are client-authoritative unless this guide explicitly identifies server-owned match evidence.

Beginner guidance

• Bring out more than one token so a blocked piece does not waste rolls.
• Use starred spaces when an opponent is close behind.
• Check every highlighted token before moving the first option.
• Balance progress toward home with opportunities to capture.

Advanced strategy

• Keep tokens separated to create several capture threats.
• Count the distance from an opponent to your exposed token.
• Use an extra turn to improve safety before chasing another capture.
• In Team Up, protect the shared win condition rather than one color's lead.

Common mistakes

• Assuming every space protects a token.
• Forgetting that three sixes end the turn.
• Advancing one token while all others remain trapped.
• Expecting the disabled five- and six-player buttons to start a match.

Accessibility notes

Dice and tokens are buttons with labels, legal choices are exposed as interactive controls, and the board scales for touch. Color is reinforced by names, positions, and turn text, though players with color-vision needs should keep labels visible.

Troubleshooting

• If no token is selectable, the roll may have no legal move and the turn will advance.
• If the board is too tight, use portrait mode or browser zoom.
• Open How to Play from the main menu for the in-game rule summary.
• A save warning affects profile synchronization, not the local match result.