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Learn Snakes & Ladders: Tutorial

2–4 players · 10–20 min · Easy to learn

Pass & play Play online

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Step 1 of 7/snakes-and-ladders/tutorial#step-1

The Board

Snakes and Ladders is a classic race game for 2 to 4 players on a 10x10 board numbered 1 to 100.

The board follows a serpentine path: row 1 goes left-to-right (1-10), row 2 goes right-to-left (11-20), and so on, zigzagging up to square 100 at the top.

All players start off the board (position 0). On your turn, you roll a die and advance forward. The first player to reach exactly square 100 wins!

Step 2 of 7/snakes-and-ladders/tutorial#step-2

Rolling & Moving

On your turn, roll a single six-sided die (1-6). Move your piece forward by that many squares along the numbered path.

If you roll a 6, you get an extra turn -- roll and move again immediately!

Movement is simple: add the die roll to your current position. From position 0 (off the board), a roll of 4 takes you to square 4.

Here, Red has rolled a 5 and moved to square 5. Blue has rolled a 3 and is on square 3.

Step 3 of 7/snakes-and-ladders/tutorial#step-3

Climbing Ladders

Scattered across the board are ladders connecting a lower square to a higher one. If your piece lands on the bottom of a ladder, it immediately climbs to the top!

The ladders on this board are:

2 to 38, 7 to 14, 8 to 31, 15 to 26, 21 to 42, 28 to 84, 36 to 44, 51 to 67, 71 to 91, 78 to 98, 87 to 94

Ladders are a huge advantage! The biggest ladder jumps from square 28 all the way to square 84 -- a leap of 56 squares.

Here, Red landed on square 2 and climbed the ladder to square 38.

Step 4 of 7/snakes-and-ladders/tutorial#step-4

Sliding Down Snakes

The board also has snakes connecting a higher square to a lower one. If your piece lands on the head of a snake (the higher number), it slides down to the tail (the lower number).

The snakes on this board are:

16 to 6, 46 to 25, 49 to 11, 62 to 19, 64 to 60, 74 to 53, 89 to 68, 92 to 88, 95 to 75, 99 to 80

Watch out for the snake at square 62 -- it drops you all the way down to square 19, a fall of 43 squares!

Here, Blue landed on square 49 (snake head) and slid down to square 11.

Step 5 of 7/snakes-and-ladders/tutorial#step-5

Rolling a Six

Rolling a 6 is special: after moving your piece, you get to roll again immediately.

This extra turn can chain -- if you roll another 6, you move again and roll yet again. There is no limit to consecutive 6s.

Extra turns on 6 are the only way to get bonus rolls in Snakes and Ladders (unlike some games, landing on snakes or ladders does not give extra turns).

Here, Red rolled a 6 and moved from square 38 to square 44. Red gets to roll again!

Step 6 of 7/snakes-and-ladders/tutorial#step-6

Reaching Square 100

To win, you must land on exactly square 100. If your roll would take you past 100, your piece stays where it is and does not move.

For example, if you are on square 98 and roll a 5, you cannot move because 98 + 5 = 103 > 100. You must wait for a roll of 2.

This makes the final stretch tense -- you might need several turns to roll the exact number. Meanwhile, your opponent could catch up!

Be careful near square 99: there is a snake that drops you to square 80 if you land on it.

Here, Red is on square 97 and needs exactly a 3 to win.

Step 7 of 7/snakes-and-ladders/tutorial#step-7

Winning & Tips

Snakes and Ladders is primarily a game of luck, but knowing the board helps you appreciate the drama!

Key ladders to hope for: Square 28 (jumps to 84) and square 71 (jumps to 91) are game-changers.

Dangerous snakes to fear: Square 62 (drops to 19) and square 99 (drops to 80, right before the finish!) are devastating.

The snake at 99 is especially cruel -- you can be one square from victory and get sent back 19 squares.

Red has reached exactly square 100 and wins the game!