How to play Ludo

Ludo is a race: each player moves their tokens around the board and into their home triangle, and captures the other players' tokens on the way. Here are the rules as GamesAura Ludo plays them.

The rules

Goal

Bring all of your tokens (4 in a classic game) around the board and into your home triangle. The first player to do it finishes 1st. The match continues until only one player is left, and everyone else is ranked by how far they got.

Getting a token out

Every token starts in your yard and can only come onto the board when you roll a 6. With the "Open a token on a 1" house rule, a 1 works too.

Rolling a 6

Open a new token or move one 6 steps, then roll again. Roll three 6s in a row and the turn is forfeited: nothing moves, and play passes to the next player.

Captures

Land exactly on a square with an opponent's token and it goes back to their yard; they need another 6 to bring it out. A capture earns you an extra roll.

Safe squares

Tokens on a star square or on any player's starting square can't be captured. Two or more of your own tokens on one square protect each other anywhere on the board.

Reaching home

Bringing a token all the way home also earns an extra roll. If no token can make a legal move with your roll, the turn passes on its own.

Ways to play

• Friends: create a room and share its code or invite link. Everyone plays live from their own device, and the host starts when all have joined.
• Friends + Bots: the same room, with empty seats filled by computer players when the host starts.
• vs Computer: an instant match against computer opponents.
• Single Phone: pass-and-play for 2 to 6 people on one device, with no internet needed.

Team play

With 3 or more players, switch on Enable Teams on the Home screen and choose how many teams. Teammates never capture each other, their tokens protect each other on a shared square, and the whole team shares the win when any member finishes 1st. On Team Setup, Custom Settings can let a team win once its members have brought a set number of tokens home between them.

House rules and options

• Open a token on a 1: a 1 also brings a token out of the yard.
• Turn timer: 15 to 60 seconds per turn (30 by default). When time runs out, the game rolls or moves for you.
• Tokens per player: 1 to 4. Fewer tokens make a shorter game.
• Cells per column: 6 is the classic board; 5 and 4 make a shorter loop and a faster match.
• Tokens to finish to win: end the match for a player once that many of their tokens are home.

Common questions

Is GamesAura Ludo free?

Yes, completely: no purchases, no ads and no account needed.

Do I need to download anything?

No. It runs in the browser on a phone, tablet or computer. An Android app is also coming to Google Play.

Can I talk to my friends while playing?

Yes. Friends rooms have voice chat, which you switch on when you want it.

What happens if someone's connection drops?

The host can open Players from the in-match settings and hand that player's seat to a bot, which plays on with the same tokens, or remove them. If the host's own connection drops, they get 2 minutes to come back before hosting passes to the next player.

Can I leave a match early?

Yes. Choose "Exit current game" in the in-game settings. You're ranked last, and the others carry on.

What does Rematch do?

After a match, Rematch resets the same room for another game. Each player who wants to play again taps Accept Rematch, then the host starts it.

Start a game