Play Ludo online with friends on one device, or against the computer
This Ludo game puts the familiar cross-shaped board on your screen so you can play without a board, a box or dice. Up to four people can share one phone, tablet or laptop and pass it round (pass-and-play), and any colour can be handed to a computer player, so it works just as well for one person on a train as for a family after dinner.
It follows the rules most Indian households play by: a 6 to bring a token out, an extra roll on every 6, captures that send a token back to its yard, eight safe squares marked with a star, and an exact roll to get home. The common house variations are switches you can see and change, so nobody argues about the rules halfway through.
It runs in your browser with no account, and an unfinished game is kept on your device so a reload does not lose it.
How to use the Ludo Game
- Pick a quick start (You vs computer, 2 players, 3 players, 4 players or You vs 3 computers), or set each colour to Player, Computer or Not playing and press New game.
- On your turn press Roll (or the R key). The die and the name above it show whose turn it is; pass the device to that player.
- If more than one token can move, the movable ones get a spinning ring. Tap one, tap its button under the die (for example “Token 2: capture Green”), or press 1 to 4.
- Roll a 6, capture a token or bring one home and you roll again. Get all four tokens to the centre triangle of your colour to finish.
- Open Rules used in this game to switch to “a 1 or a 6” to come out, or to turn off the extra rolls and the three-sixes rule.
Ludo Game features
Pass-and-play for 2–4
Every colour can be a person, a computer player or empty, in any mix. Play two players on opposite corners, three, or a full table of four.
Computer players
The computer captures when it can, races tokens home, steps off squares where an opponent could hit it and likes the safe stars. It plays a fair game, not a perfect one.
Rules on the page
The exact rules in use are listed under the board, and the four common variations are switches, so a family can match the way they play at home.
Big, clear controls
The die is a large button, choices also appear as buttons with plain descriptions, and keyboards can use R and 1 to 4.
Resumes after a reload
The game in progress and the players are saved on this device. A win count per colour is kept too and can be cleared with one tap.
Animated moves and sound
Tokens hop square by square and captured tokens flash. Short sounds play after your first roll and can be switched off.
Ludo rules used here
- Coming out. All four tokens start in the yard. A 6 places one on your coloured start square (or a 1 or 6 if you switch that option on).
- Moving. Tokens move clockwise by the number rolled. One roll moves one token; if no token can use the roll, the turn passes.
- Extra rolls. A 6 always rolls again. By default a capture and a token reaching home also give an extra roll. Three 6s in a row lose the turn; tokens already moved by the first two stay where they are.
- Capturing. Landing exactly on an opponent on a plain square sends that token back to its yard. If two opponent tokens share that square, both go back: this version has no blocks.
- Safe squares. The four coloured start squares and the four grey stars eight squares after each start are safe. Tokens of different colours can share them.
- Going home. After nearly a full lap (51 squares) a token turns into its own coloured column. It needs an exact roll to reach the centre: from five squares away only a 5 will do.
- Winning. The first player with all four tokens home wins. With three or four players the others can play on for second and third place; the game ends when one player is left, or when no person is left, only computers.
Tips that win more games
Bring a second token out early, so a roll is never forced. Stay on stars when an opponent is one to six squares behind you. Chase tokens that are about to turn into their home column: a capture there costs almost a whole lap. For young children, switch off the extra roll after a capture. Need real dice for a board game instead? Use the dice roller; for other two-player games try tic tac toe or chess.
Where Ludo comes from
Ludo is the simplified Western form of Pachisi, the cross-and-circle race game played in India for centuries with cowrie shells instead of a die. Small rules vary by region, which is why the variations here are switches. Rolls come from your browser’s random number generator and are not weighted for or against anyone.
Ludo Game FAQ
Can I play this Ludo game with friends on one phone?
Yes. Choose 2, 3 or 4 players and pass the phone round. The name and colour above the die show whose turn it is, and the roll button only works for the player whose turn it is.
Can I play Ludo against the computer?
Yes. Pick You vs computer or You vs 3 computers, or set any colour to Computer. Computer players roll and move by themselves after a short pause.
Do I need a 6 to start in Ludo?
In the default rules, yes: only a 6 brings a token out of the yard. Many families also allow a 1; switch “Bring a token out on” to “a 1 or a 6” under Rules used in this game.
Which squares are safe in Ludo?
The four coloured start squares and the four star squares, one eight squares after each start. A token on any of them cannot be captured.
What happens if I roll three sixes?
With the three-sixes rule on (the default) the third 6 is not played and the turn passes. Turn the rule off if you play without it.
Is my game saved if I close the page?
Yes, an unfinished game is saved in this browser and restored when you come back. New game clears it.