Ludo
 | |
| Players | 2–4 |
|---|---|
| Playing time | < 120 min |
| Chance | Low |
| Age range | 4 and up[citation needed] |
| Skills | Dice rolling, right moves |
Ludo (from Latin ludo, "I play") is a board game for two to four players, in which the players race their four tokens from start to finish according to dice rolls. Like other cross and circle games, it is similar to the Indian Pachisi, but simpler. The game and its variants are popular in many countries under various names.
History
Pachisi originated/started in India by the 6th century.[1] The earliest evidence of this game in India is the depiction of boards on the caves of Ajanta.[1]
This game was played by the Mughal emperors of India; a notable example being that of Jalaluddin Muhammad Akbar, who played living Pachisi using girls from his harem.[1]
Variations of the game made it to England during the late 19th century. One which appeared around 1896 under the name of Ludo was then successfully patented.[1]
Other variations
In North America, the game is sold under the brand name "Parcheesi". Variations of the game are sold under the brand names "Sorry!" and "Trouble".
In Germany, this game is called "Mensch ärgere dich nicht" which means "Man, don't get irritated", and has equivalent names in Dutch, Serbo-Croatian, Bulgarian, Czech and Slovak.
In Sweden it is known as "Fia", a name derived from the Latin word fiat which means "so be it!" Common variations on the name are "Fia-spel" (Fia the game) and "Fia med knuff" (Fia with a nudge). In Denmark and Norway though, the game is known as Ludo.
Board
A Ludo board is normally a square marked with a cross. Each arm of the cross is divided into three columns, with the columns divided into usually six squares. The centre of the cross is the finishing square which is often divided into four coloured triangles. Each coloured triangle is combined with a coloured middle column appears as an arrow pointing to the finish. The shaft of each arrow is a player's "home column" and is five squares long.
To the left of each home column, one square from the edge of the board, is a large starting square, also coloured, with four smaller squares therein, on which each players four pieces are placed. During game play a piece moves from its starting square, clockwise around the perimeter of the board, and up the player's home column to the finishing square. This is opposite to pachisi which runs counterclockwise. In the space to the left of each arm is a circle or square to hold a player's pieces before they are allowed into play. Unlike pachisi, there are no resting squares, but the coloured home column may only be entered by its own player's tokens. However, Ludo played in the Indian Subcontinent has a resting place in each quadrant, normally the fourth square from the top in the right most column.These spaces are usually marked with a star.
The special areas on the board are typically brightly coloured with yellow, green, red, and blue. In some boards, the colours may vary. Each player uses tokens of matching colour, often made of cardboard or plastic.
Rules
At the start of the game, the player's four pieces are placed in the start area of their colour.
Players take it in turn to throw a die. A player must first throw a six to be able to move a piece from the starting area onto the starting square. In each subsequent turn the player moves a piece forward 1 to 6 squares as indicated by the die. When a player throws a 6 the player may bring a new piece onto the starting square, or may choose to move a piece already in play. The player is also granted another turn as a bonus, but if a 6 is rolled three times in a row it is counted as a foul and the player therefore loses their turn.
If a player gets a 6 they can separate chances (the player can separate 6 on one piece and 3 on the other if they get a 6 and a 3, if the pieces are already out of the house). The player can also play the numbers (6 & 3) using the same piece in any order. If a player cannot make a valid move they must pass the die to the next player.
If a player's piece lands on a square containing an opponent's piece, the opponent's piece is captured and returns to the starting area. A piece may not land on a square that already contains a piece of the same colour (unless playing doubling rules; see below).
Once a piece has completed a circuit of the board it moves up the home column of its own colour. The player must throw the exact number to advance to the home square. The winner is the first to get all four of their pieces onto the home square.
Variations
- To get a game started faster, some house rules allow a player with no pieces on the board to bring their first piece into play on any roll, on a 1 or a 6, or allow multiple tries to roll a 6 (with three rolls being the most popular).
- If a piece lands on the same space as the another piece of the same colour, the moved piece must take the preceding space.
- If a player's piece lands on another of their own pieces, they are doubled and form a "block" which cannot be passed by any opponent's pieces. Or in some variations may only be passed by rolling a 6 or 1.
- Doubled pieces may move half the number if an even number is thrown e.g. move 2 spaces if a 4 is thrown.
- A doubled piece may capture another doubled piece (like in Coppit).
- A board may have only four spaces in each "home column". All four of a player's pieces must finish in these spaces for the player to have finished the game. (See Mensch ärgere dich nicht.)
- To speed the game up, extra turns or bonus moves can be awarded capturing a piece or getting a piece home; these may grant passage past a block.
- In Denmark and some other countries the board has eight spaces marked with a globe and eight with a star. The globes are safe spaces where a piece can not be captured. The exception is that a player who has not yet entered all pieces, can always enter a piece on a roll of six. If the entry is space occupied by another player's piece, that piece is captured. Otherwise the entry spaces work like the other globe spaces. A piece which would have landed on a star instead moves to the next star.
In some parts of Africa the following rules are reportedly played:
- A doubled block also blocks trailing pieces of the player who created the block, or blocks them unless they roll the exact number to land on the block and doubled can't move forward until landed move This reduces the tactical advantage of a block and makes the game more interesting.
- There are 4 safety squares on the board, like castle squares in Pachisi, as well as the safe home squares, where a piece may able to move forwards or backwards and start their turn before previous player finishes.
- A piece landing on a square with an opponent's piece not only sends the opponent piece back to the starting area but also sends the piece to its home square.
- A player cannot move their first piece into the "home column" unless they have captured at least one piece of any of the opponents.
Cultural references
- In 1967 Ivor Cutler recorded an album titled Ludo (Ivor Cutler album) with Beatles producer George Martin.
- In the music video for the song "The Name of the Game" by the Swedish pop group ABBA, the four members of the group are shown playing Fia-spel.
- In the 1951 novel The Hive by Camilo José Cela, the character Ventura asks to borrow the Ludo from Doña Celia, the proprietress of a house of assignations.
See also
Notes
External links
- Tradgames.org
- igGameCenter play Ludo online via browser or iGoogle gadget