21 Ultimate Strategies to win A Ludo Game

Ludo is a combination of luck and strategy. You cannot control the luck factor other than the probable attempt of trying different ways to roll the dice (try to roll a dice a little differently once you got two 6s in a row). So, we always focus on the strategy part.

Terminologies:

Pieces: The objects you are given to move. There would be a maximum of 16 pieces on a board

Places: The squares on which your pieces move

Endpoint: Your final destination

Home: Places just before your endpoint where you cannot get killed

Den: The starting point. A six would take you from the den to the start (star) point

Killing: Cutting a piece and sending it back to the den

Opponents: Competitors other than yourself

Stars: Safe points where no one can kill

Strategy Points:

1. Get all your pieces out as soon as possible. If you only invest your numbers in one piece, you have to leave safe stars and take unnecessary risks.
2. Try to get into stars or double your pieces into a place (this rule might be different in various variants of the game).
3. The importance of a piece is directly proportional to its proximity to the home. If you have to risk your pieces to leave the stars, risk the ones closest to the starting point in 1st and 2nd quadrant. Preserve your pieces near to the endpoint.
4. Killing opponents is always thrilling even at your own piece’s risk. However, to win the game, you have to calculate risk before killing anyone. If you are in first and probably up to the second quadrant, you can kill opponents even if you cannot escape. If you are already in 3rd or 4th quadrant, kill your opponents only if there is a chance to escape far. This brings us to our next point. How far should you escape?
5. Escaping far means you are separated by your opponent by at least 7 square places. If he or she scores 6 and 1, you’ll die but the probability is low. Escape with more than 6 spaces at any point in time and you are very less likely to get killed.
6. Leave stars cautiously. You have to look at not only your opponent’s chance to kill you but also your chance to kill your opponents. If they are coming soon, wait for them to cross over you and smash them.
7. If you have an option to kill one of many opponents, choose the ones that have reached far from the start point. However, if the piece is the last one of the opponent, you have to kill it regardless.
8. If you want to run away or chase your opponent, moving your piece into the endpoint through home could give you a second chance to score right.
9. Decrease the probability of yourself getting killed and increase the probability of your opponents getting killed. If you are chasing a piece that you must kill to win, preferably chase with more than one of your pieces keeping all of them within 6 places apart if possible. When you are running away from an opponent, move away at least one piece more than 6 places apart.
10. At your second last or last star, run only if you got at least 6 and 4 respectively as far as possible if there are other opponents behind. That way, you can get to the home safer. If there is no one, you can go with any of the numbers.
11. If killing your opponents doesn’t increase or decrease your chance of getting killed significantly (for example similar probability like 1/6 in both cases), kill them at all costs.
12. Probability calculation though not always required can come handy. If your opponent is behind you by 7 places, he or she has to score 6 and 1 in succession to kill you. That’s 1 out of 36 random events. If you two are just 14 places apart, he or she has to score 6,6 and 2 to kill you. That is even rare. 1 out of 216 random events. Compared to this, if you are within 6 places apart, your chance of getting killed increases by 36 times.
13. When you are getting into the endpoint through the home, keep your pieces apart at different places. Do not stick all your pieces at one point at your home and you’ll be hunting for the same number again and again. Probability matters.
14. Do not make silly mistakes like moving a different piece than you intended or forgetting to kill your opponent because you didn’t pay attention.
15. Hunt for stars. The most certain way of winning ludo is either to keep your pieces behind your opponents, kill them, and move forward or you can run away from them with at least 6 places in between which will reduce your chance of getting killed by 6 times.
16. If possible, try to limit your opponent to one piece. If they have no option to move, they would move one piece continuously and the chances of their piece getting killed are very high.
17. If you are playing with more than one opponent, keep that in mind while calculating risks. Leaving a star point having all three of your opponents is 3 times riskier compared to the star where only one of your opponents is residing.
18. Once you are limited to only one piece, you have no choice. So, get your pieces out as soon as possible. You can keep them in the start star point if that seems best but take them out of the den as soon as possible.
19. If you aim for victory, go for victory. Killing opponents at the cost of your piece getting killed might feel thrilling for a little while but it will not help you win. Take calculated risks. Unnecessary risk is foolishness.
20. If losing is inevitable, aim for a better position. Shift your focus on killing the competitors you can compete with rather than running behind ones that are almost sure to win.
21. Finally, the strategies, tips, and tricks are all there to help you make the best decision. Be confident, take your time to think (but not too much as other players might get irritated). Think beforehand. It’s all in the practice. The more you play, the better would be your best possible move.

All the best.