Ludo- An Overview of the Popular Board Game

Ludo is a Latin word meaning ‘I play’. The board game is played by minimum two and maximum four players. Each player is given four tokens. All the players race their tokens from begining to end according to dice rolls. Derived from the Indian game of Pachisi, but is less complicated and a lot easier.

Pachisi originated in the 6^th century. Since then, it has had a number of references in a lot of ancient and medieval Indian paintings and books. This ancient game was customized and and patented as Ludo in England in 1896.

In different countries Ludo is sold under different names. In North America, it is sold under the name Parcheesi. Different brands sell in under names like Sorry! and Aggravation.

In Greece, the game is called Grumbler.

In Estonia, it is called Trip Around The World

In Germany, Ludo is called “Man, don’t get irritated”. The same name is used in a lot of other countries like Russia, Siberia and Czech.

The board of the game is divided into four parts, which are colored in four different bright colors. Usually the four colors are red, yellow, green and red. Each player is given four tokens of their respective colour. Two lines of three columns each intersect and form a cross. There are six squares in each column, and the middle one has five colored squares called the home column. Once the token enters its respective home column, it is safe. There is a finishing square in the middle of the board.

1. At the beginning of the game, all the tokens are kept inside the large columns of the player’s color at the corner of the board. These columns are called the player’s yard.
2. Each player throws the dice according to his or her turn. The token can only be taken of the yard if the number one or six comes. If not, the dice has to be passed on to the next player.
3. Once the token is out on the starting square, the players race to get all of their four tokens to the centre of the board. They can only move according to their dice roll. If not possible, the dice has to be passed on to the next player.
4. The first one to get all the tokens in after going around the cross once is the winner and the rest fall in place accordingly.

Ludo is very popular all the counties it is played in. The game is quite fun and results in a lot of grumbling and disappointment when a token is captured. Winning gives a sense of accomplishment after this game of thirty minutes to me. The unpredictable game is a great source of entertainment and is a great way to kill time. If you haven’t played the game, you might think that the whole game is based on luck but even with good numbers, a lot of strategic thinking and well thought moves lead to victory. Since Ludo is played almost everywhere, it won’t be difficult to get hold of this game, no matter under what name it is available. I love it and I recommend Ludo as a great board game.

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