The History of Snakes and Ladders: From Moksha Patam
Snakes and ladders looks like a children's game, and today it mostly is. But it started as something quite different: a game about how to live a good life, played in India long before it was sold in toy shops.
Here is the story of how a board about virtue and vice turned into the game families play today.
Moksha Patam: a game about the journey of a soul
The game's origins are usually traced to India, where it was known by names including Moksha Patam and Gyan Chaupar. It was a teaching game as much as an entertainment.
The board was a path from the bottom to the top, and the top represented moksha - liberation. The ladders stood for good qualities, such as generosity, faith and humility. The snakes stood for bad ones, such as anger, greed and pride.
Landing on a good deed lifted you up. Landing on a bad one dragged you down. The message was simple and a little stern: one bad act can undo a great deal of progress.
More snakes than ladders
On many traditional boards, there were more snakes than ladders. That was deliberate. The idea was that the path to a good life is harder than the path away from it, and that falling is easier than climbing.
Board sizes varied too. Some had around seventy squares, others many more, and designs differed between regions and traditions. The one hundred square grid that is now standard came later.
How it came to Britain
Like Ludo, snakes and ladders travelled to Britain in the nineteenth century. It was adapted for Victorian families, and commercial versions were being sold in England by the late 1800s.
The moral lessons stayed for a while. Early English boards still labelled squares with virtues and vices - a ladder from kindness, a snake from laziness. Over time the labels faded away, and the game became a pure race.
Chutes and Ladders
In the United States, the game became Chutes and Ladders in the 1940s. The snakes were replaced with playground slides, which made the board less frightening for small children. The rules stayed the same: climb up, slide down, race to the top.
What stayed the same
Across all these versions, the core of the game has never changed.
- A path from bottom to top.
- A die that decides every move.
- Shortcuts that lift you up and hazards that bring you down.
- No decisions to make, so anyone can win.
That last point is the one that matters most today. Because the game is pure luck, a young child can beat an adult fairly, which makes it one of the best first board games.
From board to phone
Online versions keep the same board and the same rules, and they solve the classic problems: nobody miscounts, the snakes and ladders move your token automatically, and the family can play together from different homes.
Snakes and Ladders Jim is one of those versions. You can play with friends in a private room, against other players, against the computer, or on one phone passed around the table.
If you need a refresher on the rules, there is a step by step guide to playing snakes and ladders, including the house rules families argue about.
Frequently asked questions
Where did snakes and ladders come from?
It is usually traced to India, where it was played as Moksha Patam or Gyan Chaupar - a game about virtues and vices. It came to Britain in the nineteenth century.
What did the snakes and ladders mean originally?
Ladders represented good qualities, such as generosity and humility, and snakes represented bad ones, such as anger and greed. Reaching the top meant liberation.
Why are there more snakes than ladders on old boards?
To teach that a good life is harder to achieve than a bad one - falling is easier than climbing.
What is Chutes and Ladders?
The American version of the game, introduced in the 1940s, with slides instead of snakes. The rules are the same.
Is snakes and ladders a game of skill?
No. Every move is decided by the die. That is why it works so well for young children, who can win against anyone.