Ludo strategy: how to win more games

Every Ludo game depends on the dice, but the dice don't make your decisions. On most rolls you can choose between two, three or four moves, and good choices add up over a game. Players who think about each move win far more often than players who always move the front token. Here's how to choose well.

Get tokens out early

With only one token on the board, every roll moves that token, whether it's a good move or not. With two or three tokens out, you get to choose. When you roll a 6 early in the game, bringing a new token out is usually the right call. Having options is the most valuable thing in Ludo.

There's one exception: if a token on the track is in danger and the 6 would carry it to safety, saving it can be better than bringing out a new one.

Count the danger

A rival's token can capture yours only by landing exactly on it. That means the danger zone is the six squares directly behind your token. Before each move, look behind the square you're about to land on. If a rival token sits one to six squares behind it, there's a real chance you'll be captured next turn.

A token that is six squares in front of a rival is in the same danger as a token one square in front. Each number from 1 to 6 is equally likely. Two rival tokens behind you doubles the risk.

Use safe squares

Star squares and start squares are safe. A token sitting on one can wait there while others move past. When you have a choice, ending a move on a safe square is often worth more than a few extra squares of progress. Be careful near an opponent's start square, though: their new tokens appear there, right behind anything sitting just in front.

Capture when it matters

Capturing sends a rival token back to its yard and gives you another roll. It's usually a great move, and it's even better when the token you capture was far around the board. Sending back a token that had almost reached home costs your opponent a huge amount of progress.

Before you capture, check one thing: will your token then be sitting in front of other rival tokens? A capture that leaves you open to an easy capture back can turn into an even trade.

Don't spread too thin

It's tempting to move every token a little. But four tokens halfway around the board are four tokens in danger. A steadier plan is to move one or two tokens far ahead while the others wait on safe squares or in the yard. Once a token enters your coloured home path, nobody can touch it, so getting tokens there quickly protects your progress.

Think about the end

Near the end of the game you need exact rolls to reach home. Having tokens at different distances from home helps: if one token needs a 3 and another needs a 5, more rolls are useful to you. Two tokens both needing a 6 can leave you stuck for several turns.

A simple checklist for each roll

1. Can I capture a rival token, especially one that is far along?
2. Can I move a token into home, or into my safe home path?
3. Is one of my tokens in danger, and can this roll move it to safety?
4. Did I roll a 6? Bring out a new token if nothing above applies.
5. Otherwise, move the token that ends on the safest square.

Try the checklist in a game against the computer on Gamesupa. The computer thinks about danger and safe squares too, so you'll see these ideas at work on both sides of the board.