Ludo Rules - How to Play
Ludo is a dice race for two to four players. Each color starts with four tokens in its yard, travels the shared track once, and must bring every token into its own home stretch to win.
Players, tokens, and the die
This board supports two, three, or four players using red, green, yellow, and blue. Each player has four tokens and rolls one six-sided die on a turn. Tokens begin in the colored yard and only enter the shared ring after a legal exit roll.
Leaving the yard
- Roll the die. A result of 6 lets you move one token from your yard onto your starting square.
- If several tokens are still in the yard, choose which one leaves.
- A token already on the track may also move six spaces when you roll a 6, if that advance is legal.
Without a 6, tokens in the yard cannot leave. If no token has a legal move for the roll, the turn ends.
Moving on the track
After a token leaves the yard, each legal roll advances that token forward along the shared path by the number shown on the die. Only one token moves per roll. You may choose among any of your tokens that can complete the full count without overshooting the final home square.
Safe squares and captures
Eight squares on the ring are marked safe: the four starting squares and four star squares. A token that lands on a safe square cannot be captured there.
If you land on a non-safe ring square that holds one or more enemy tokens, every enemy token on that square returns to its yard and must leave again on a later 6. Landing on your own color never captures your own tokens.
Extra rolls and three sixes
You roll again after any of these results: rolling a 6, capturing at least one enemy token, or moving a token onto the final home square. The turn continues until a roll produces none of those extras, or until you have no legal move.
Three sixes in a row void that streak: the third 6 does not grant a useful move, and the turn passes to the next player.
Entering home and winning
Near the end of the lap, each color turns into its private home stretch. A token may enter and finish only on an exact count. If the roll would carry it past the final home square, that token cannot use the roll; choose another legal token or end the turn if none remain.
The first player whose four tokens all occupy the final home square wins immediately. Leading with one or two finished tokens is not enough.
Ludo rules FAQ
- Do I need a six to leave the yard?
- Yes. A token stays in the yard until you roll a 6 and choose that token to exit onto its starting square.
- Can more than one enemy token be captured at once?
- Yes. Landing on a non-safe square returns every enemy token stacked on that square to its yard.
- Are starting squares safe?
- Yes. Each color’s start square is one of the eight safe squares, along with the four marked star squares.
- Must I finish with an exact roll?
- Yes. A token reaches the final home square only when the die count lands exactly on it.
- What happens after three sixes in a row?
- The streak is voided and the turn ends, so the next player rolls instead of continuing from that third 6.
Try the rules on a live board
Roll a few turns and watch which squares light up after each die result. Practice one exact finish into home, then open the strategy guide for decisions that sit on top of these rules.
Know the legal moves? Read Ludo strategy →