1. Get more than one token out early
When you roll a 6, the easy move is to run the token you already have. Usually the better move is to bring a second token out of base. With two or more tokens on the board, every number you roll has a useful job, and you are never forced to make a bad move with your only piece.
Having a choice is the single biggest advantage in Ludo. It lets you capture when a capture appears, hide when you are threatened, and keep a token safe while another one runs.
2. Learn the safe squares
The start squares and the star squares are safe: an opponent cannot capture a token that sits on one. Before you end a move, look at where the token will stand. A token on a safe square can wait there while the dice come good, and it forces the other players to go past it.
- Use safe squares as stepping stones when the next few squares are crowded with opponents.
- When you are ahead, park on a star and let others come to you.
- When you are behind, stay off the safe squares that opponents are sitting on, because you will not be able to capture them there.
3. Measure the danger before you move
An opponent token can capture yours if it lands exactly on your square. A token standing one to six squares behind yours is a real threat, because one roll can reach it. Tokens further than six squares behind cannot reach you in a single roll.
So before you finish a move, count the squares behind your token. If an opponent is within six, move on if you can, or choose a move that puts the token on a safe square.
4. Capture when it costs you little
A capture sends the other token back to base and, in most rule sets, gives you another roll. It is almost always worth taking. The exception is a capture that leaves your token exposed right in front of two other opponents. If the capture puts you in range of several tokens, think about whether the extra roll is worth the risk.
5. Do not run one token all the way
A single token racing round the board looks fast, but it has to run past every opponent's start square, and each of those is a place where a freshly released token can appear right behind it. Moving several tokens a bit at a time keeps your whole army safer and gives you more options.
6. Plan for the exact roll into home
To finish a token you need the exact number to land in the home square. Tokens that are close to home can wait a long time for the right roll. Do not leave all your tokens needing exact numbers at the same time. Bring one token into position at a time, and keep one token further back so you always have something useful to do with a roll you cannot use at the finish.
7. Use sixes carefully when the rules bank them
In the rules used on boardflix, a 6 means you roll again, and no token moves until the rolling is over. You can bank several numbers and then spend them in any order. The catch is the third 6 in a row, which cancels the turn and everything you banked. Spending your numbers wisely, in the order that gives the best result, is the main skill in this version.
- With a 6 and a small number banked, think about whether the small number can be played on a token that the 6 brings out.
- Check captures first. A banked number that lands on an opponent is usually the best one to spend.
8. Watch what your opponents are doing
The board tells you the whole story. Notice which opponent has tokens waiting in base: they are the ones who might appear behind you after a 6. Notice who is close to winning, and use captures on their most advanced tokens when you can. A well-timed capture of a token that was one roll from home can win the game.
