What is the difference between Ludo and Parcheesi?

Both come from Pachisi and both race four tokens around a cross-shaped board. Parcheesi is the American version, and it has blockades as a standard rule, safe spaces and a different way of entering the board. Ludo is simpler, and most of its extra rules are optional.

What house rules are best for kids?

Three tries to roll a 6 when every token is in the yard, starting with one token already on the board, and no penalty for rolling three 6s. Together they keep the game moving and nobody sits waiting for a 6 for ten minutes.

Can you combine house rules?

Yes, as long as everyone agrees before the first roll. Rules that speed the game up combine well. Rules that make captures harder, such as safe squares plus blockades plus bounce back, make for a long game.

Does Ludo have blockades?

Only as a house rule. In the traditional game, two tokens on the same square do nothing special. Some families let a pair block the track, which makes the game more tactical and slower.

Ludo · Variants

Ludo variants and house rules, and what each one changes.

Almost nobody plays Ludo exactly as the box says. Here are the changes families make most often, what each does to the game, and how the older games Ludo came from compare.

Before you change anything

Agree the rules before the first roll.

House rules are just rules, and a game goes smoothly when everyone is playing the same ones. Say them out loud, check that the youngest player understands, and write them on a card if the same group plays often. The rules page lists which rules are classic and which are optional, so you know what you are changing.

Faster games

Get to the action sooner.

Start with a token out: Each player begins with one token already on the start square. It skips the opening wait for a 6, which is the slowest part of a game, and is the easiest change for young players.
Three tries for a 6: When every token is in the yard, you roll up to three times looking for a 6 before the turn passes. Games start faster and early turns stop feeling wasted.
Two tokens each: Everyone plays with two tokens instead of four. The game is much shorter, since there are half as many tokens to bring home.

Tactical changes

Make captures count for more, or less.

Extra turn on a capture or a finish: Sending a token home or getting one into the centre earns another roll. Captures get more rewarding, and a hit followed by a roll can chain into another. Games swing harder.
Three 6s forfeit the turn: Roll a third 6 in a row and the move does not count. This stops a hot streak from running away with the game.
Blockades: Two of your tokens on one square cannot be passed or landed on. Blocks become a real weapon and play slows down while tokens wait behind them.
Must capture to get home: A token has to capture at least once before it may enter its home column. It rewards aggression and makes the late game messier, but a player who cannot find a target can stall.
No safe squares: Remove the stars and start squares as protection. Every token on the ring can be hit at any time, so the game gets shorter and meaner.

Getting home

How the finish works.

Bounce back at the centre: If your roll overshoots the centre, the token moves to the centre and then counts the leftover steps back out. You still need the exact number eventually, but a near miss moves the token backwards instead of leaving it where it was.
Any roll that reaches home: If the roll gets you to the centre or beyond, the token finishes. It cuts out the long wait for an exact number and shortens the game considerably.

Different formats

Teams, extra colours and full rankings.

Team Ludo: Four players in two teams, partners sitting opposite each other. Partners cannot capture each other, may stack, and the team wins when all eight of its tokens are home.
Two colours each: Two players take two colours each and play eight tokens apiece. The game runs longer and has more decisions on each roll.
Finishing order: Play on after the first winner until second and third place are settled. Handy when you want the game to end with a full result, not just a winner.

Choosing a set

Which rules for which table.

For young children, start with a token out and three tries for a 6, and skip the forfeit for three 6s. For a mixed family of kids and adults, classic rules with safe squares are a good middle. For a competitive group that likes a longer game, add blockades and an extra turn for captures, and keep the exact roll to finish.

If a house rule starts an argument every time it comes up, drop it. A plainer game is better than a clever one that nobody remembers the same way.

Family tree

Pachisi, Parcheesi, Sorry! and Mensch ärgere dich nicht.

Pachisi is the ancestor, a race game played in India for centuries on a cross-shaped cloth, with cowrie shells in place of dice. Its safe squares and its habit of sending captured pieces back to the start are the roots of several of the rules above. A related Indian game, chaupar, uses a similar cross-shaped layout.

Ludo is the simplified English version, sold in the 1890s. Parcheesi is the American cousin, and it keeps more of Pachisi's character, including blockades. Mensch ärgere dich nicht is the German relative from the early 1900s, with a name that roughly means "don't get annoyed". It plays much like Ludo, usually with three tries to roll a 6 and no safe squares. Sorry! swaps the die for a deck of cards and adds slide squares, though it keeps the same race-and-bump idea.

These are separate games with their own rules, and plenty of families borrow from all of them. The Ludo house rules above are exactly that kind of borrowing.

Questions

Quick answers

What is the difference between Ludo and Parcheesi?: Both come from Pachisi and both race four tokens around a cross-shaped board. Parcheesi is the American version, and it has blockades as a standard rule, safe spaces and a different way of entering the board. Ludo is simpler, and most of its extra rules are optional.
What house rules are best for kids?: Three tries to roll a 6 when every token is in the yard, starting with one token already on the board, and no penalty for rolling three 6s. Together they keep the game moving and nobody sits waiting for a 6 for ten minutes.
Can you combine house rules?: Yes, as long as everyone agrees before the first roll. Rules that speed the game up combine well. Rules that make captures harder, such as safe squares plus blockades plus bounce back, make for a long game.
Does Ludo have blockades?: Only as a house rule. In the traditional game, two tokens on the same square do nothing special. Some families let a pair block the track, which makes the game more tactical and slower.

Keep reading