How to Play Snakes & Ladders

Snakes & Ladders is a race game that is all about the dice. There is no strategy to learn, so anyone can join in, and nobody is out of it until someone reaches the top.

Quick Overview

• Players: 2 to 4
• Equipment: a board numbered 1 to 100 and one die (Playboards rolls it for you)
• Goal: be the first to land on square 100
• Time: 10 to 20 minutes

Setup

Everyone’s token starts just off the board, before square 1. Playboards picks who goes first at random, and play then passes around the table in seat order.

Taking a Turn

1. Press Roll. The die is rolled on the server, so nobody can nudge it.
2. Your token moves forward that many squares, following the numbers as the rows wind back and forth up the board.
3. If you end on the foot of a ladder or the head of a snake, it moves you (see below).
4. The turn passes to the next player.

Tokens never block or capture each other. Several players can share a square.

Ladders and Snakes

• Ladders help you. Finish your move on the square at the bottom of a ladder and you climb straight to the square at its top.
• Snakes set you back. Finish your move on a snake’s head and you slide down to the end of its tail.

Only the square you finish on counts. Passing over a ladder or a snake on the way does nothing.

Finishing Exactly

To win you need to land exactly on square 100. If your roll would take you past it, your token stays where it is and your turn is over. So on square 97 you need a 3 to win.

You can change this with the Bounce back or Fast options below.

Rolling a 6

• A 6 earns another roll. Move your token, then roll again.
• Three 6s in a row cost you the turn. If you roll a third 6 in the same turn, that roll doesn’t move you. Your token goes back to the square it was on when your turn began, and play passes on.
• A 6 that lands you on 100 wins straight away; there is no extra roll after it.

When Your Time Runs Out

Each turn has a time limit (30 seconds unless the host chose another). If you haven’t rolled when it runs out, Playboards rolls for you and moves your token, so the game keeps going even if someone steps away.

Players Leaving

• With three or four players, someone who leaves drops out. Their token stays where it was, and everyone else plays on.
• With two players, if one leaves the game ends and the other player wins.

Winning and Placings

The first player to reach square 100 wins and the game ends there. Everyone else is placed by how far up the board they got. Players who left are placed after the players who stayed. Players on the same square share a place.

Optional Rules

The host can switch these on when creating the game. They are all off unless chosen.

Bounce back on overshoot

Instead of staying put when you roll too high, you count up to 100 and then back down by the extra. On square 98, a 5 takes you 99, 100, 99, 98, 97, so you finish on 97. If you finish on a snake or a ladder, it still counts.

Need a 6 to start

Your token can’t enter the board until you roll a 6. That 6 puts you on square 6. Any other roll leaves you waiting off the board.

Classic: no extra roll on 6

A 6 is just a 6. You move and your turn ends, as with any other roll. With no extra rolls, the three-sixes rule never comes up.

Fast: no exact finish

Any roll that reaches or passes square 100 wins. This makes games shorter. With Fast on, Bounce back has no effect.

Tips

• There is no wrong move: every turn is a single roll, so just enjoy the race.
• A game can swing late. A snake near the top can send the leader a long way down, so nobody is out of it until someone lands on 100.