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Ludo
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Ludo · How to play

Rules

The "how it works" section covers the app. This is the actual game: "Mensch ärgere Dich nicht", or Ludo.

  1. 1. Objective

    Be the first to move all four of your pieces out of your yard, all the way around the board, and into your own home column.

  2. 2. Setup

    2 to 4 players each get four pieces in their color, waiting in their yard. The game starts once everyone in the lobby is ready.

  3. 3. Rolling

    The server rolls for you automatically at the start of every turn. Rolling a six grants an extra roll right after that turn's move.

  4. 4. Leaving the yard

    A piece needs a six to leave the yard for its starting square. Once out, move the chosen piece forward by the number rolled along the track.

  5. 5. Capturing

    Land exactly on a cell occupied by an opponent's piece to send it back to their yard - it has to start over from there. The same can happen to you, anywhere along the shared track.

  6. 6. Winning

    Once a piece completes the full lap, it turns into your own private home column and is safe from capture. The first player to get all four pieces home wins the round.

How this app plays it

  • Move timerWhen you have more than one legal move, the host-configured timer (15-60s) decides how long you have to pick a piece before the turn passes automatically.
  • Automatic movesIf a roll leaves you exactly one legal move, it can be played automatically instead of waiting out the timer - the host can turn this off in the lobby.
  • Fair diceNumbers are balanced to come up regularly over a game, so no one waits forever for the six they need - the order each number appears in still stays random.
  • Must spawn on sixAn optional rule the host can enable: rolling a six with a piece still waiting forces it out of the yard, instead of also offering to move a piece already on the board.
  • Extra turn on captureAn optional rule the host can enable: capturing an opponent's piece earns you another roll. It doesn't stack with a six, so a capturing six still gives just one extra roll.
  • Safe start squaresAn optional rule the host can enable: the four colored start squares are safe. A piece standing on one can't be captured, and a square occupied by another color can't be landed on or spawned onto, so that move isn't available. If no other move is possible, the turn passes.
  • Three triesAn optional rule the host can enable: if you have no piece on the board that can move, because everything is still in the yard or stuck at the end of your home column, you roll up to three times in a turn to get a six. The turn passes after the third miss.
  • Must captureAn optional rule the host can enable: if any of your moves would capture an opponent's piece, only those moves are offered. This includes leaving the yard onto an occupied start square, and it takes priority over must spawn on six.
  • Computer opponentsThe host can fill free seats with bots. They roll and move on their own, and a game against bots can start with just one human player.
  • Removing inactive playersThe host can remove a player who has gone quiet at any time, even mid-game, and the turn moves on to the next player. If only one player is left, they win. If the host is away for more than 30 seconds, the host role passes to another player. Anyone in the room can take the role over right away once the host is gone. In the lobby, someone who closes their tab is dropped after about 15 seconds.