Ludo Game

Pachisi or ludo originated in India by the 6th century. The earliest

evidence of this game in India is the depiction of boards on the caves

of Ajanta.

This game was played by the Mughal emperors of India; and kings of

India. It is said that the Mysore Ruler Customized the game to 6

Players so he could play with his 5 queens together.

Variations of the game made it to England during the late 19th

century. One which appeared around 1896 under the name of Ludo.

The players alternate turns in a clockwise direction.To enter a token

into play from its staging area to its starting square, a player must

roll a 6. If the player has no tokens yet in play and does not roll a

6, the turn passes to the next player. Once a player has one or more

tokens in play, he selects a token and moves it forward along the

track the number of squares indicated by the die roll. Players must

always move a token according to the die value rolled, and if no move

is possible, pass their turn to the next player.

When a player rolls a 6 he may choose to advance a token already in

play, or alternatively, he may enter another staged token to its

starting square. The rolling of a 6 earns the player an additional

("bonus") roll in that turn. If the additional roll results in a 6

again, the player earns an additional bonus roll. If the third roll is

also a 6, the player may not move a token and the turn immediately

passes to the next player.

A player may not end his move on a square he already occupies. If the

advance of a token ends on a square occupied by an opponent's token,

the opponent token is returned to its owner's yard. The returned token

may only be reentered into play when the owner again rolls a 6.

(Unlike Pachisi, there are no "safe" squares on the game track which

protect a player's tokens from being returned. A player's home column

squares are always safe, however, since no opponent may enter them.

Ludo played in the Indian subcontinent features a safe square in each

quadrant, normally the fourth square from the top in the rightmost

column. These squares are usually marked with a star.

The Player whoes all four tokens reach Home Wins!