Overview
Roll a die, move along a numbered grid, climb ladders and slide down snakes. There are no decisions whatsoever. The winner is determined entirely by the dice.
No governing body publishes rules for this game. This page describes the most common form. House rules vary, so agree them before you start.
1. Setup
A board of 100 numbered squares in a boustrophedon grid — numbering runs left to right, then right to left on the row above.
Ladders connect a lower square to a higher one; snakes connect a higher square to a lower one.
Each player has one token, starting off the board.
2. Play
Roll a single die and move that many squares.
- Land on the foot of a ladder — climb to its top.
- Land on the head of a snake — slide to its tail.
You only move on the square you land on, never one you pass over.
Some house rules grant an extra turn for rolling a six. This is not part of the standard game.
3. Winning
Reach square 100 exactly.
Most rules require an exact roll. Overshoot and you either stay put, or bounce back the excess — agree which before starting.
4. On the absence of strategy
There is nothing to decide, and no way to play well. Every game is fully determined the moment the dice are rolled.
That is genuinely valuable for young children — it teaches turn-taking, number recognition and counting, without requiring any strategic capacity at all, and everyone has an equal chance regardless of age.
How long a game takes depends on where the board puts its snakes and ladders.
Commonly argued
- You only trigger a snake or ladder by landing on it, not passing it.
- An exact roll to finish is the standard rule; bouncing back is the common alternative.
- A six does not grant an extra turn in the standard game.
- There are no decisions. Nothing you do affects the outcome.
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Corrections are reviewed by an editor before they publish.