THE GAME of LUDO

 

The lockdown has made you all stuck-up at home. I can feel your discomfort in not being able to go out of the house, go to school, cannot meet friends, even can’t visit friends’ homes. But what can we do?

This is the pandemic that has spread across the globe. Every country is taking precautions so that this infection does not spread. So, we should also follow the do’s and don’ts to be safe.

Being at home some time can be spent in playing indoor games.

Let’s talk about the game of Ludo. I think most of you have played Ludo. For those who have, can now think about it.

So let me tell you something about the game of Ludo.

Just a simple description: Ludo is a strategy board game for two to four players, in which the players race their four tokens from start to finish according to the rolls of a single dice. Like other cross and circle games, Ludo is derived from the Indian game Pachisi, but is much simpler. 

What is needed to play this game:

Ludo is a strategy board game for two to four players. You need a Ludo board and 16 tokens with 4 tokens each of a different colour and a dice. The Ludo board is easily available at the toy store near your home or you can purchase it online with the help of your parents.

The players race their four tokens from start to finish according to the rolls of a single dice and whoever reaches the finish first with all his or her four tokens is the winner.

How to play:

Players take turns in a clockwise order. A piece simply moves in a clockwise direction around the track given by the number thrown with the dice. If no piece can legally move according to the number thrown, play passes to the next player.

A throw of 6 gives another turn to throw the dice.

A player must throw a 6 with the dice to move a piece from the starting circle onto the first square on the track. And then you move your token easily with the throw of your dice. Once the four tokens of a player is out of his or her starting circle it becomes easy for the player to play. The player decides which tokens to move. The token moves around the track and crosses the others to reach home safely. Each player gets a turn one after another. If a token lands on a token of the opponent colour, that token of the opponent is sent back to the starting circle.

If a piece lands upon a piece of the same colour, this forms a block. This block cannot be passed or landed on by any opposing piece.

The first person to move all 4 pieces into the home triangle wins.

Young children like this game. It is simple and easy to play. And then of course the counting is there with the throw of the dice. Why children, even elders enjoy playing this game.

What is it about Ludo that has made it such a longstanding game across hundreds of years? Perhaps the charm lies in its simplicity and elegant design. Or maybe it’s about the way it brings people together in order to spend some quality time. No matter what, one thing is for sure – Ludo is extremely fun.

 Having said about the Ludo game I want to share some experiences. As children we used to play Ludo. Four players. The game would be at its full swing. Suddenly someone’s token has to go back to the starting point…then the fight would start. The board with all the tokens and dice would be simply just messed up and the whole game and game time lost and spoilt.

As children, such strong emotions run when losing a game. There would be exchange of words and the game would stop. But soon with everything patched up the game would start again with laughing and talking. At times the quarrel among the players would be such, the Ludo board would be torn to number of pieces and if the board was lucky the tear would be from the middle. But home remedy was there. Gum and paper would soon fix the board into whole.

So, friends if you have a Ludo board at home, play the game and see what happens next.

Keep me informed about your Ludo Game adventure so that we can have a share of your thoughts and then think whether to laugh or…

See you again.

© Gouri Guha 2021