Ratna's Senior 2-in-1 Ludo and Snakes & LaddersPhoto: Flipkart
The snakes-and-ladders side, 1 to 100Photo: Flipkart
Climb the ladders, slide down the snakesPhoto: Jacqui Brown, CC BY-SA 2.0
Squares 1 to 100 in a zigzagPhoto: Meghmollar2017, CC BY-SA 4.0
Gyan Chaupar, the Indian game behind Snakes and LaddersPhoto: Jain miniature, public domain
Another Gyan Chaupar board: the top square stood for mokshaPhoto: Nomu420, CC BY-SA 3.0
Video

Traditional game

Snakes and Ladders

Climb the ladders, dodge the snakes, first to 100 wins

2–4players · best with 2-4
15–30 minplaying time
4+recommended age
Learning curve
Very easy1 / 5
EasyDemanding
Luck & skill
Mostly luck
LuckSkill
Interaction
Low
Set-up
Under a minute
Reading
None

The quick verdict

Full verdict ↓

Great for Children of about 4 to 7 learning to count, read numbers up to 100 and wait their turn

Think twice if Your children are past about 8; there are no decisions, so they'll soon want Ludo or a game with choices

How we rate it

Learning curve. Roll, count and move. If a child can count to six, they can play.

Luck & skill. Pure luck: there is never a choice to make, so the die alone decides who wins.

Interaction. Players can't affect each other at all; the fun is in cheering each other's ladders and groaning at the snakes.

Set-up. Turn the board to the Snakes and Ladders side, give each child a counter and start.

Reading. Only the numbers 1 to 100 on the board, which is good counting practice.

Learning curve: 1 = UNO or Connect 4; 3 = Catan; 5 = a heavy strategy game. These describe the experience, not an overall score.

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Is Snakes and Ladders right for you?

Great if

  • Children of about 4 to 7 learning to count, read numbers up to 100 and wait their turn
  • A first board game where a small child can beat anyone, fair and square
  • Telling children the Indian story behind the game, from Moksha Patam to today
  • Short games that fit a small child's attention span

Skip it if

  • Your children are past about 8; there are no decisions, so they'll soon want Ludo or a game with choices
  • You want something the adults will enjoy too; it's luck from the first roll to the last
  • Your child takes losing very hard; a long snake near 100 can bring tears (try the cooperative idea below)

How Snakes and Ladders plays

Set-up: everyone puts a counter just off square 1. The board is a 10 by 10 grid numbered 1 to 100, zigzagging up from the bottom row, with ladders and snakes linking squares.

  • Time to teach: about 2 minutes.
  • Reading and language: Nothing to read except the numbers 1 to 100, which is part of the point for small children. Works in any language.
Squares 1 to 100 in a zigzag · Photo: Meghmollar2017, CC BY-SA 4.0

How to play Snakes and Ladders · Triple S Games

Choose a video · Watch right here

If this creator doesn’t allow embedded playback, watch on YouTube ↗.

A turn, step by step

  1. 1
    Roll

    Roll the die and move your counter forward that many squares along the numbered path.

  2. 2
    Climb

    Land at the foot of a ladder and climb up it; land on a snake's head and slide down to its tail.

  3. 3
    Win

    The first to reach square 100 wins. Most families need an exact throw to land on it.

Read the rulesHow To Play Snakes And Ladders (Bigjigs Toys, April 2023) · English
The full explanation: how a game of Snakes and Ladders goes

Take turns rolling one die and moving forward that many squares. Land at the foot of a ladder and climb straight up it; land on a snake's head and slide down to its tail. There are no choices to make: the die decides everything.

The first player to reach square 100 wins. Most families play that you must land on 100 exactly. If you throw too much, you either stay put or 'bounce back' by the extra squares: on 98, a five takes you to 100 and back three to 97.

Common house rules: a six gives you another roll, three sixes in a row cancels the turn, and some families make you throw a six to get onto the board, as in Ludo. A game for two to four children usually takes 15 to 30 minutes.

The original Indian game, Gyan Chaupar or Moksha Patam, was a lesson as well as a game: ladders stood for virtues such as generosity and faith, snakes for vices such as anger and theft, and the top of the board was moksha, liberation. For a change with older children, try playing together: everyone must reach 100, and anyone hitting a snake means the whole team starts again.

What's in the box

The snakes-and-ladders side, 1 to 100 · Photo: Flipkart
  • 1Playing board
    dual-sided: Snakes and Ladders on one side, Ludo on the other
  • 16Counters
    4 each in 4 colours (the Ludo side needs them all), going by an Indian listing for Ratna's Senior Deluxe set
  • –Die
    not listed for this set; one is all the game needs

Box: 37 × 18.5 × 4 cm. Handy to know for gifting and travel.

Ratna's doesn't publish a contents list we could read. The dual-sided board comes from the listing title; the 16 counters come from an Indian marketplace listing for Ratna's 'Ludo with Snakes & Ladders Senior Deluxe' (item 1256), which may be the same set. Snakes and Ladders needs only one counter per player and one die. Check the box for the die before the first game.

Where to buy

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How to pick a good setSize, pieces and the details worth checking.

Choosing a set

Nobody owns Snakes and Ladders, so choose a well-made set rather than a brand. Our Amazon.in button goes to Ratna's Senior 2-in-1, from a Mumbai toy maker; Indian listings give India as the country of origin for Ratna's sets. Since young children outgrow Snakes and Ladders quickly, a 2-in-1 board with Ludo on the back is better value than a single game.

Before you choose

  • Board: the numbers 1 to 100 should be large and clearly printed, with the path easy to follow, and every snake's head and tail and every ladder's foot and top plainly on a square. Muddy printing causes arguments and confuses small children.
  • Material: thick, laminated card survives sticky fingers and wipes clean; wooden or magnetic boards last longer and keep counters in place on journeys.
  • Counters and die: chunky counters in clearly different colours, and a die with large, clear dots that small children can count easily.
  • Safety: look for the ISI mark and a BIS licence number (CM/L- followed by digits) on the box; under India's Toys (Quality Control) Order it has been required for toys sold in India since 1 January 2021. Counters and dice are small, so keep them away from toddlers.
  • Value: a dual-sided board with Ludo on the back, like the set we link, keeps the box in use after children outgrow Snakes and Ladders.
  • Storage: a box that closes properly, so the counters and die stay with the board.

What reviewers and players say

Snakes and Ladders is pure luck, and writers who look at it closely say so plainly: no player ever makes a decision, so adults soon get bored, and with several players most children end up losing. That is also its value for small children. They practise counting to 100 and taking turns, and because nobody can be better at it, a four-year-old can beat anyone; one discussion makes the point that a random winner teaches children to win and lose gracefully. Once children are past about 7, move them on to Ludo or a simple cooperative game.

What people love

  • Children can play from about 4, as soon as they can count dots on a die
  • Good counting and number practice on a 1-100 grid
  • Nobody has an advantage, so the youngest can beat a grandparent
  • Long ladders and longer snakes make big, funny swings

Common complaints

  • There are no choices at all, so adults get bored quickly
  • With four players three lose, which can upset small children
  • Snakes near the top can drag a game out
Based on 6 reviews and discussions

Summarised in our own words from the sources above. We don't use Amazon reviews or ratings.

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Play time15–30 min30–60 min15 min15–20 min
Age4+5+4+5+
RulesEasyEasyEasyEasy
Indian editionAvailableAvailableImportedImported
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Questions people ask about Snakes and Ladders

Who invented Snakes and Ladders?

No single inventor is known. It grew out of Gyan Chaupar, also called Moksha Patam, an Indian game in which ladders were virtues, snakes were vices and the top square was moksha. The oldest securely dated board is a late-18th-century chart made in Lucknow; the popular story that the 13th-century saint Gyandev (Sant Dnyaneshwar) created it appears only in much later sources. English makers turned it into Snakes and Ladders in the 1890s.

Do you need the exact number to win Snakes and Ladders?

Not in the simplest rules, but most families play that way: you must land exactly on 100. If you throw too much, you either stay put or move up to 100 and bounce back the extra squares. It makes games a few turns longer, so agree on it before you start.

What age is Snakes and Ladders good for?

It suits children from about 4, as soon as they can count the dots on a die, until about 7 or 8, when most want a game with choices. The Ratna's set we link is marked for ages 5 and up. The counters and die are small, so keep them away from toddlers.

Is Snakes and Ladders a game of skill or luck?

Pure luck. Every move is decided by the die, so nobody can get better at it. That is exactly why it's good for young children: a four-year-old can beat a parent, and everyone practises winning and losing gracefully.

What is Saap Seedhi?

Saap Seedhi, or Saanp Seedhi ('snake ladder'), is the Hindi name for Snakes and Ladders. It's the same game, and most Indian sets print the English name on the box.

Game facts

Publisher
Ratna's (Prem Ratna Toys, Mumbai)
In India
Prem Ratna Toys, Mumbai (maker of Ratna's games)
Players
2–4
Language
No reading – Nothing to read except the numbers 1 to 100, which is part of the point for small children. Works in any language.
Box size and weight
37 × 18.5 × 4 cm
Sources & photo creditsThe references behind this guide.

Facts on this page come from the publisher, the Indian maker or distributor, and the sources below. Photos are credited under each one.