Ludo
Roll, run, and knock them back.
The race everybody already knows how to play. Two to four colours each run four tokens all the way round the board and into the middle; a six sets a token free and buys you another roll, and landing on somebody sends them back to the start. Short rules, long memories.
This one is a web extra — it isn't in the app. The PartyAt app itself ships 17 party games.
Play Ludo online free — 2 to 4 players, one device
Ludo, playable right here. Two to four players share one device: roll the die, then tap the token you want to move. A six brings a token out of its yard and earns you another roll — and when you have nothing out at all, any roll brings one out, so nobody sits waiting. Landing on an opponent sends it back to the start, finishing needs an exact roll, and the first player to get all four tokens home wins. Free, no sign-up, and it works offline.
Rules used here: a six releases a token and earns another roll; with nothing of yours on the course, any roll releases one; your own tokens may share a square; there are no safe squares and no blocking; and finishing needs an exact roll.
Ludo is a web extra — the PartyAt app is a collection of party games for one phone, from a bomb-passing game to bingo, dice and roulette, for up to a hundred players.
How to play — rules
- All four of your tokens start in your yard. Roll the die on your turn; a six moves one out onto your own coloured start square — and while you have nothing on the course at all, any roll does.
- Move any one of your tokens forward by the number rolled. Rolling a six also earns you another roll straight away.
- Land on a square holding an opponent's token and it goes straight back to their yard. Your own tokens may share a square safely.
- After a full lap, your tokens turn into your own coloured lane and finish in the middle. The last step is exact: a number bigger than the distance left cannot be played by that token at all.
- The first player to bring all four tokens into the middle wins.
How to win
Bring all four of your tokens round the board and into the middle before anyone else, landing on the goal with an exact roll. The game ends the moment someone's fourth token arrives — there is no play-off for second place here.
Tips & strategy
- Getting a second token out early beats racing one token round on its own — a lone token can be sent home by anybody, and then the whole lap was for nothing.
- Count the gap before you move. A token six or fewer squares in front of an opponent is inside their reach for their whole next turn.
FAQ
- Do I need to install anything, or pay?
- No. The board on this page runs in the browser, free, with no sign-up, and everyone plays on the same phone rather than joining an online room.
- How is this different from Parcheesi or parchís?
- They are cousins, not the same game. This is Ludo: 52 squares, a six to come out, no safe squares, and an exact roll to finish. Parchís (the Spanish version, sold in the United States as Parcheesi) has a longer track, a five to come out, starred safe squares and bonus moves for capturing. Mensch ärgere Dich nicht and the French petits chevaux are two more members of the family.
- Can I roll a six and still have nothing to move?
- Yes, because finishing is exact. If your last token sits two squares from the middle and everything else is already in, a six is too big for it and there is nothing in the yard for the six to release — so the turn simply passes. It is never a dead end: the number you need comes round soon enough, and nothing on the board changes while you wait.
- Are there safe squares, or can two of my tokens block a lane?
- Neither, in this version. Your tokens may sit on the same square, but a stack is not a block and it is not protected — an opponent landing there sends every token on that square home. Blocking is a rule that exists and is usually left switched off; starred safe squares are a different tradition again, and there are none here.
Where it shines
Pass one phone around and play it in moments like these.
- Family timeSimple enough for every generation.
- Just the two of youHead-to-head while you wait.
- Three or four of youThe sweet spot for a small table.
- Anywhere, offlineNo wifi, no signal? No problem.
