Ludo · Strategy
Ludo strategy that actually wins games.
The die sets the distance, but you pick the token, and that choice adds up over a game. These tips are about the choices: when to come out, when to chase, where to park and how to count the last stretch.
Leaving the yard
Get tokens out, but not all of them.
On a 6, you will often have a choice between bringing out a new token and moving one you already have. Early on, bring one out. A player with a single token on the board has exactly one option on every roll, which is no choice at all. With two or three out you can always find a safe move.
Stop at three. A fourth token in play means a fourth token to defend, and every token on the ring is a target. Keep the last one at home until you actually need it, or until a 6 has nothing better to do.
Danger
Know who can hit you.
Before every move, look behind your tokens. An opponent token one to six squares behind yours can capture it with a single roll, because the die can show any number from one to six. At seven to twelve squares behind, the opponent needs a 6 first and then the exact remainder, so the risk is far smaller. Past twelve, you are practically out of range.
Two opponent tokens in range at different distances roughly double the danger, because they need different numbers and either one will do. When you cannot get out of range, step onto a safe square if one is within reach.
Chasing and running
Hunt the leader, protect your own.
Chase a token when capturing it costs the owner a lot: one that has completed most of its lap, or one the player has been nursing along for ten turns. Ignore tokens that have only just left their start square. Sending those home costs a single 6, and chasing them often drags your own token into range of someone else.
Run when your token has done most of the lap and an opponent is closing. A token close to its home column that gets hit loses the whole race. If the home column is within a roll or two, make for it, because tokens in the column cannot be captured.
When you are behind, be the hunter. A player who is behind in the race gains the most from a capture, and the other players will probably be focused on the leader anyway.
Safe squares
Treat stars as stepping stones.
If your board has safe squares, they are the most useful squares on it. Use the four stars as a staircase: move a token from its start square to the nearest star, then to the next one, waiting there whenever an opponent is lined up behind you.
You can also lurk behind an opponent's start square. Their tokens leave that square on a 6 and land ahead of it, often within range of a token waiting behind it. The catch is that your waiting token is exposed to anyone behind you, so choose a moment when the squares behind you are empty.
Blocking
Pairs, if your house rules allow them.
Blockades are a house rule: two of your tokens on the same square that nobody else can pass or land on. If you play with them, put a pair on the ring a few squares in front of the player who is ahead. They have to waste rolls on other tokens, and a player with no other move passes.
Do not hold a block forever. A pair that never moves means you are not racing, and the players behind you are free to catch your other tokens. Break it when the leader has been stalled long enough for your other tokens to close the gap.
The endgame
Count the steps to home.
A token on its start square is 56 steps from the centre: 50 more squares around the ring, five up the home column, and one onto the centre. Count what each of your tokens still needs. The total tells you how many rolls you have left, since a roll averages three and a half and a 6 gives you a bonus, and you can compare it with your opponents' totals to see who is really winning.
Near the end, think in terms of which numbers move a token home. A token two squares from the centre only comes home on a 2. Leave two tokens waiting on the same number and you pass on five rolls out of six. Keep them waiting on different numbers, one needing a 2 and the other a 5, and two rolls out of six do something.
Keep one token with room to move until late. If your only remaining token needs an exact number, every other roll is wasted. A spare token elsewhere on the board turns those rolls into progress.
A checklist
What to do when you are not sure.
Run down this list from the top on each roll. The first thing that is possible is usually the right move.
Finish a token
If a roll lands a token on the centre, take it. A token that is home cannot be captured.
Capture the one that has travelled furthest
A token about to turn into its home column costs its owner the most. A token fresh off the start square costs them one 6.
Get out of range
If one of your tokens has an opponent one to six squares behind it, moving it or reaching a safe square usually beats a speculative move elsewhere.
Land on a safe square
Stars and start squares let a token wait out a threat. Hop from star to star when you can.
Bring out another token on a 6
More tokens in play means more options. Aim for two or three out, not all four.
Advance the rear token
When nothing else matters, move the token that has gone the least.
Questions
Quick answers
- Should I always bring a token out on a 6?
- Usually, when you have fewer than two tokens in play. More tokens out means more choices on every roll. Skip it when the 6 captures an advanced opponent, rescues a token that is in danger, or finishes a token.
- Is it better to move the leading token or the one at the back?
- Move the leading token when it is exposed or close to its home column, and move the back token when the front one is already safe. A token parked on a safe square or sitting in its home column can wait. One that is in range of an opponent should not.
- How far away is a token in danger?
- An opponent token one to six squares behind yours can hit it with a single roll. At seven to twelve squares the opponent needs a 6 and then the exact remainder, which is a much smaller chance. Beyond that you are out of range for the moment.
- What is the biggest mistake in the endgame?
- Leaving your last two tokens waiting for the same number. If they need different numbers, two rolls out of six move one of them home, and you stop passing turns.