Snakes and Ladders

1 Setup

Place the board flat. Each player chooses a token and places it off the board (before square 1). Roll dice to determine who goes first, highest roll starts.

2 Gameplay

On your turn, roll the die (or two dice) and move your token forward that many squares, counting from your current position. Always move forward. After moving, apply any special square effects.

3 Winning

The first player to reach the final square (100 in the classic version) wins. Most versions require an exact roll to land on 100, if you roll more than needed, you either bounce back (move forward to 100, then backward by the excess) or must wait for the exact number. Check your specific edition.

4 Snakes & Ladders

Ladders: Landing on the bottom of a ladder moves you up to the square at the top, a shortcut forward. Ladders represent virtues in the original Indian version (Moksha Patam).

Snakes: Landing on a snake's head slides you down to its tail, a setback. Snakes represented vices in the original game.

You do not get another turn after climbing a ladder or sliding down a snake, play continues to the next player.

5 Is There Any Strategy?

No, Snakes and Ladders is a pure luck game. There are no decisions to make. Every outcome is determined by dice rolls. The game was designed this way intentionally: the original Indian game (Moksha Patam) was a moral lesson that fate and karma determined life outcomes, not human agency.

This also makes it ideal for young children, no player has an advantage based on skill or age.

6 History

Snakes and Ladders originated in India as Moksha Patam, likely in the 2nd century CE. It was a moral and religious teaching tool: ladders represented virtues (faith, humility, generosity) that elevated the soul; snakes represented vices (lust, anger, theft) that caused the soul to descend. The game was brought to England by colonial administrators in the 1890s, commercialized as "Snakes and Ladders," and published as "Chutes and Ladders" in North America (replacing snakes with slides).