Ludo (single player) — guidebook

Bring all four green tokens from the yard to the centre before the three computer players bring theirs home. Each roll gives you a small decision: advance, enter another token, capture an opponent or seek safety.

Start and objective

You play green and move first. The red, gold and blue sides are computer-controlled. All sixteen tokens begin in their coloured yards. A token reaches the centre only after travelling around its circuit and up its own coloured home lane. The first side with all four tokens home wins.

This edition uses the rules below. Ludo has many household variants; this game does not promise to match every local rule.

Taking your turn

Press Roll. If a legal move exists, the green tokens you may move receive a gold outline, and their numbered buttons become available below the board. Tap a highlighted token or its button. You always choose the token, even if only one move is possible.

A six can move a token from the yard onto its coloured starting square. Entering uses the roll: it does not then travel six more spaces. You may instead use that six to move a token already on the board. Rolls from one to five cannot leave the yard.

If no token can move, the game passes automatically, except that a six still earns another roll. Computer turns happen after a short delay.

Sixes and extra turns

• Rolling six normally earns another roll after you use it.
• On a third consecutive six, that roll and the extra turn are forfeited. Moves made on the first two sixes stand.
• Rolling something other than six ends the run of consecutive sixes.
• Capturing a token or finishing a token does not give an extra roll. Only six does.

For example, rolling six, moving out of the yard, rolling six and advancing again is allowed. If the next roll is also six, you cannot use that third roll, but your earlier progress is not undone.

Captures and safe squares

Coloured starting squares and the marked stars are safe. Opposing tokens may share those squares without capture.

On an ordinary circuit square, landing on an opponent sends that token back to its yard. If several opposing tokens share the square, all of them are captured. Passing over a token does not capture it.

Friendly stacks do not form blockades: other tokens can pass them, and an opponent can capture a stack by landing on it. Tokens in their own home lane are beyond the shared circuit and cannot be captured there.

Reaching home exactly

The token buttons show progress along your route. Yard is outside the route; progress 0 is the starting square. Progress 0 through 50 follows the shared circuit, 51 through 55 is your five-space coloured lane, and 56 is Home.

You need an exact roll to finish. A token at 54 can go home on two, but cannot move on three or more. If another token can use that roll, choose it; otherwise the no-legal-move rule applies. A token already home never moves again.

Controls and pause

On a phone or tablet, tap Roll and then a highlighted token or numbered token button. The buttons offer an easier target than crowded squares. With a keyboard, use Tab to focus the same controls and Enter or Space to activate them.

Pause stops the computer turns and your moves; Resume continues. The turn indicator and status message explain whether you should roll, choose a token, wait for a bot or resume a paused game.

Playbook

1. Bring more than one token into play. More active tokens give you more choices and reduce the cost of one capture.
2. Check the six spaces behind you. An opponent there may be able to land on your square next turn.
3. Use safe squares deliberately. A slightly shorter move onto a star may be better than exposing your leading token.
4. Capture when it helps the race. Sending a rival back can be useful, but check whether your landing leaves you vulnerable.
5. Keep options near home. A token waiting for an exact number can be balanced with another that can use larger rolls.

The die still matters. The bots prefer finishing, captures and safety, but neither they nor you can guarantee a win.

Save, results and replay

The game saves locally in this browser after each action, including a rolled die waiting for your token choice. Reloading resumes that state. A paused save remains paused until you choose Resume. Saves do not follow you to another device, browser or website address, and clearing browser data removes them.

The winner is announced when its fourth token reaches Home. Finished games clear the ongoing save. Choose New game to start again; an unfinished game asks before replacement. There is no online multiplayer, account, ranking or match history in this edition.

Install, offline and guidebook

Open the complete game online once. Use Install or the browser's Install app/Add to Home Screen action where supported. In iPhone/iPad Safari, use Share then Add to Home Screen. After the first full load, the standalone game and guidebook work offline. Installation is optional for browser play and belongs to the host site when embedded.

The full guidebook opens in a new tab to preserve your game. Use the browser's Print command to print it or save as PDF. Physical-phone installation has not been verified on a device.

Troubleshooting

If Roll is unavailable, check whether you must choose a token, wait for a bot, resume play or start a new finished game. If a token cannot enter, you need a six. If it cannot finish, check the exact-roll requirement. If a capture did not happen, check for a star or coloured safe start.

If a saved game is missing, confirm you are using the same browser and site address. Browser privacy settings, storage limits or cleared data can prevent local saves. To restore offline availability after clearing data, load the page online again.