MKG LudoLudo basics
How to Play Ludo: A Friendly Guide to Your First Game
Someone hands you four tokens and says, ‘You just need a six.’ That gets you started, but it does not explain the whole game. Ludo is a race around a shared track: get your tokens out of the starting yard, move them around the board and bring them safely into your own home lane. Here is a practical way to learn without stopping every turn to ask what happens next.
Set up the board and agree on the rules
Each player chooses a colour and puts their four tokens in the matching starting yard. Place the board where everyone can see the track and reach the dice. Choose who goes first, then agree on a direction for taking turns.
A common version needs a six to bring a token into play and gives another roll after a six. However, printed boards, family traditions and apps can differ. Before rolling, check the entry rule, safe squares, extra turns and what three consecutive sixes mean in your version. The rulebook for your actual board takes priority over a general guide.
Take a turn, one move at a time
Roll the die and look at all the legal moves available. Normally, you choose one active token and move it forward by the full number shown. You do not split a single roll between tokens. If no token can legally move, your turn ends unless the agreed rules give you another roll.
For example, suppose you have two tokens on the track and roll a four. One could move onto an exposed square near an opponent; the other could move into a safe position. Both may be legal. The choice is yours, which is where Ludo becomes more interesting than simply counting spaces.
Understand captures and safe squares
In many versions, landing exactly on an opponent’s token on an ordinary square sends that token back to its yard. That opponent must bring it out again under the entry rule. Passing a token is different from landing on it: moving past alone does not usually capture it.
Marked safe squares may protect tokens, but their positions and stacking rules vary. Do not assume every star or coloured square works the same way across different boards. Point to the safe squares together before the first turn.
Bring all four tokens home
After completing the shared track, each token enters its own coloured home lane. A common rule requires an exact roll to finish. If a token needs two and you roll five, you usually need to move another token instead. The first player to bring all four tokens home wins in this version.
Try one slow practice game with everyone explaining their moves aloud. Keep the focus on recognising legal moves, rather than on winning. Once counting and captures feel familiar, you can spend more attention on which token is worth moving.
A quick check before you start
Can everyone identify their start square, direction of travel and home entrance? Have you agreed which squares are safe? Does everyone know whether a six gives an extra turn? Sorting out these three questions now prevents most first-game arguments.
If you are teaching a new player, leave this guide open and play without a timer. Give them time to count their own move, and let mistakes become short explanations instead of penalties.
Spotted a rule that differs in your edition? Send a correction with the article title and the rulebook or edition you use. How we approach our guides.