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Snakes and Ladders
Rules and Strategy
Snakes and Ladders is a simple board game with the straightforward objective of racing the player's token from start to finish with dice throws.
Similar to the brand-name board "Chutes and Ladders" marketed by Milton Bradley, Snakes and Ladders owes its inspiration to a similar game in 16th century India.
Gameplay takes place on a specially designed 10x10 grid game board (some versions use 8x8 or 12x12). There is no limit to the number of players. Playing dice is required. |
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The Classic Board Game of Moving up Stairs and Sliding down Snakes (or Chutes). |
The original Indian game meant to teach spiritual virtue. The ladders going up pertain to moral values; the snakes going down pertain to base vices; the destination square represents salvation. |
What's Needed to Play a Game of Snakes and Ladders:
* 2 + Players
* a Snakes and Ladders game board
* 2+ distinct playing tokens
* a 6-sided playing dice
Objective of a Game of Snakes and Ladders:
* Players race against other players in advancing his/her playing token from start to finish with successful die rolls. Players throw dice in turn. The winner is the first player to successfully reach the FINISH square (#100).
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Diagram 1: The Snakes and Ladders Game Board:
Players start at square 1 and advance numerically as decided by dice rolls.
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About the Snakes and Ladders Game Board:
Refer to Diagram 1: The Snakes and Ladders game board is a 10x10 grid game board numbered from 1 to 100. Players are meant to advance numerically from outside the game board, to the Finish Square (#100) via lucky dice throws.
Starting Position: The imaginary starting position is Square ZERO, just outside the game board. The lucky player who rolls a 1 lands at the foot of a ladder, and gains a fantastic lead at the very start of the game.
The Ladders: Landing on a square with the foot of a ladder lets players ascend to destination squares that are the equivalent of 3, 5, or as much as 9 dice throws away. For example, landing on square #9 lets players advance to square #31 in just one die roll.
The Snakes: Landing on a square with the mouth of a snake forces the player to be thrown back a good distance in squares. A player loses ground this way. For example, landing on square #54 demotes the player to square #34. |
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Winning the Game:
Exact Dice Roll: An exact dice roll is needed to land on square #100. Example: A player has just landed on square #99. In order to win the game, he needs to roll a 1. Any roll higher than one cannot be used by the player, and he has to pass his turn.
Note: Landing on square #80 is another way to win the game since it has a ladder that automatically elevates the player to square #100.
Alternate Rules:
Easy Ending: Rather than require an exact dice roll to win the game, any roll that leads the player to square #100 or beyond is enough to win the game.
Faster Movement: On rolling a six, the player moves his token and is allowed to roll again. This allows game play to proceed faster where a lucky player can move his token farther and farther by throwing consecutive sixes.
Fast and Easy, but with a Twist: As an interesting variation, a player who rolls 3 consecutive sixes is thrown back to imaginary Square ZERO, meaning that he has to start the game over. |
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Draconian Penalty for Too Much Luck: Providing an even further twist, a player who is thrown back to square ZERO after rolling 3 sixes needs to roll a six before he can re-enter the game board. Once he rolls a 6, he can then re-roll and use the new number to re-enter the game board. |
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You can download, print and play Snakes & Ladders with this Snakes and Ladders Game Board. Just use a 6-sided dice and some playing tokens, and you and your friends are set to play! |
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