How to play Snakes and Ladders

Snakes and Ladders is one of the first board games many people ever play. Here are the rules we use, and the surprising story behind the game.

The rules

1. Everyone starts on square 1.
2. Take turns rolling the die and moving forward that many squares, following the numbers back and forth up the board.
3. Land on the bottom of a ladder and climb to the top.
4. Land on a snake’s head and slide down to its tail.
5. Roll a 6 and you roll again.
6. Land exactly on 100 to win. If a roll takes you past 100, count to 100 and bounce back the extra squares.

A game of pure chance

There are no choices to make in Snakes and Ladders. Every move is decided by the die, so a five-year-old has exactly the same chance as an adult. That’s why it’s such a good first game: it teaches counting, taking turns and winning or losing gracefully.

A long history

The game comes from ancient India, where it was played as Moksha Patam. The ladders stood for virtues and the snakes for vices, and reaching the final square represented liberation. It travelled to Britain in the 1800s and later to America, where it is often called Chutes and Ladders.

Playing with young children

• Let them count the squares aloud as their counter moves.
• Talk about the numbers on the die: which is the biggest, which is the smallest.
• Celebrate the ladders and laugh at the snakes. It’s all part of the fun.