The History of Ludo: From Pachisi to Your Phone

Ludo feels like it has always existed. Most people learned it from a grandparent, who learned it from theirs. That feeling is closer to the truth than you might expect: the game on your phone is a direct descendant of a race game played in India for centuries.

Here is how it got from there to here.

Pachisi: where it starts

Ludo comes from Pachisi, a race game from India. The name comes from the Hindi word for twenty-five, which was the highest score you could throw.

The board was a cross, usually embroidered on cloth rather than printed on card. Each arm of the cross had three columns of squares, and the players raced their pieces around the arms and back to the centre - the same journey a Ludo token makes today.

Instead of a die, Pachisi used cowrie shells. Players threw a handful, and the number that landed with the opening facing up decided the move. More shells facing up meant a bigger move, and certain throws gave an extra turn - an ancestor of the extra roll you get for a six.

A closely related game: Chaupar

Chaupar is Pachisi's close cousin. It uses the same cross-shaped board, but long dice rather than shells, and it was often played for higher stakes. The two names are sometimes used for each other, and both belong to the same family of cross-and-circle race games.

The royal courtyard story

The most famous story about Pachisi involves the Mughal emperor Akbar. The story goes that he played the game on a giant board laid into the courtyard of his palace at Fatehpur Sikri, with people standing in for the pieces.

A large cross-shaped pattern survives in the courtyard there, and it is often pointed to as the board. Whether every detail of the story is true is hard to say, but it shows how widely the game was loved - from village floors to a palace.

How the game reached England

During the nineteenth century, versions of Pachisi were taken to Britain. They were simplified for a family market: a square board instead of a cloth cross, a cube die instead of shells, and fewer special rules.

That simplified version was patented in England in 1896 under the name Ludo, from the Latin for "I play". The name stuck, and so did the design - the square board with four coloured corners and a shared track is still what most people picture.

The game's cousins around the world

Ludo is one branch of a wider family. The same Indian game was adapted in several countries, each with its own name and small rule changes.

• Parcheesi in the United States, which keeps a name close to the original.
• Mensch ärgere Dich nicht in Germany, whose name roughly means "don't get annoyed", which is good advice for any Ludo player.
• Sorry! is a card-driven relative, also sold in the United States.

Across South Asia, Ludo itself became one of the most played board games of the twentieth century, and the version on phones today follows the same basic rules.

From board to phone

The biggest change in Ludo's long history happened recently. Online versions made it possible to play with family in another city, or with strangers anywhere in the world.

The rules barely changed. Tokens still need a six to leave the yard, captures still send a token home, and the race is still around the board and up the coloured column. What changed is who you can play with, and that nobody has to count squares or pick up a lost token from under the sofa.

Ludo Jim is one of those online versions, with private rooms for playing with friends, and pass-and-play on one phone for playing together in the same room.

Why the game lasted

Race games like Ludo last because they mix luck and choice in exactly the right amounts. The dice give everyone a chance, so children and adults can play together. The choice of which token to move gives better players an edge, so the game never feels completely random.

That balance was there in Pachisi centuries ago, and it is still why people play today. If you want to see how much skill is in the modern game, there is a guide to the rules of Ludo, and another to the strategy that wins games.

Frequently asked questions

Where does Ludo come from?

Ludo comes from Pachisi, a race game from India played for centuries. A simplified version was patented in England in 1896 under the name Ludo.

What does the word Ludo mean?

It is Latin for "I play". The name was chosen for the English version of the game.

What is the difference between Ludo and Pachisi?

Pachisi uses a cross-shaped cloth board and cowrie shells instead of a die, and has more special rules. Ludo uses a square board and a single die, with simpler rules.

Is Parcheesi the same as Ludo?

They are close relatives from the same Indian origin. Parcheesi is the American version and has some rule differences, such as using two dice.

Can you still play Ludo online?

Yes. Online versions keep the classic rules and let you play with friends in private rooms, against other players or against the computer.