Snakes and Ladders

Alternate Names

Chutes and Ladders, Moksha-patamu, Gyá n chaupad ("The Chaupar of Knowledge", Hindi), Ná gapá sa ("Snake Dice", Nepalese).

No. of Players

Two players are typical, but if the board is large enough more players can be accommodated.

Equipment

A Snakes & Ladders Board, two each of black and white counters and a single die are required for play. The board is typically a 10x10 grid of 100 serially numbered square cells. Number 1 is placed at the bottom left corner of the board and numbers 2-10 follow sequentially to the right. Number 11 is directly above 10 in the row above and now the sequence is left-progressing. Number 21 is directly above 20 and so on. This type of board sequencing is called boustrophedon.

History

Little is known about the history of this game, although it is likely to be nearly a millennium old. It may be derived from a simple race game by simply adding the snakes and ladders. The game is associated with the Hindu religion and was used to teach children morality. One of the oldest Hindu boards labels the cells of virtue as Faith (12), Reliability (51), Generosity (57), Knowledge (76), and Asceticism (78). Each of these squares is at the base of a ladder that a player ascends to a higher square when landing there. Conversely, the squares of evil are Disobedience (41), Vanity (44), Vulgarity (49), Theft (52), Lying (58), Drunkenness (62), Debt (69), Rage (84), Greed (92), Pride (95), Murder (73), and Lust (99). Each of these squares is the mouth of a snake which then “swallows” the player’s counter, causing it to descend to a lower square. Presumably, the last square, 100, represents Nirvana. The morality of the game must have appealed to the Victorians, who took to the game when it was published in England in 1892. The general premise of the game remained mostly unchanged but the the sins and virtues were adjusted to reflect Christian morality. Also, the number of snakes and ladders was equalized, making the newer game quicker and easier. In most modern versions, the labeling of the sins and virtues is absent.

Objective

The first player to land on the 100th square wins the game. After this, other players may continue for position.

Play

Each player has one counter which begins off of the board. A player rolls one die per turn. After deciding the order in which players will roll the die, the first player proceeds by moving his counter along the squares in numerical order, in accordance with the number obtained by the roll of the die. If a player’s counter lands at the base of a ladder, the player may then climb the ladder to the square at its top, passing all of the intermediate squares. If a counter lands at the mouth of a snake, the counter must go down the length of the snake to the square at its tail.

If a player’s throw is higher than the number needed for his counter to land on the last cell, she has to count the difference in descending order. For example, if a player’s counter is on cell 97 and that player rolls a 6, she must move forward three squares to 100 and then back three squares to cell 97.

Strategy

There is no strategy involved in the play of this game which determined solely by chance with the roll of a die.

Variations

The number of snakes as compared to ladders is various. Older boards typically have more snakes, entailing a harder game, whereas newer boards often have an equal amount of or more ladders. The length of the snakes and ladders is also various. Boards of different shapes and sizes have been devised. Some use the same boustrophedon pattern on boards with 8 x 8, 9 x 9, or other grids; while another one from the Victorian era is a circular spiral with 100 steps. Some games use two dice per roll, while others may use differing numbers or types of dice.

Optional Rules

The following rules are not mandatory to play, but may be used if agreed upon by all players prior to the game commencing.

  • A counter may not be entered upon the board until the player controlling that counter rolls a 6 on the die, then moving his counter to cell 6.

  • If a counter lands at a cell already occupied by another counter, it must return to the square it departed from, in effect forcing the omission of a turn.

Sources

  1. Provenzo, Asterie Baker and Eugene F. Provenzo, Jr. Play It Again, Historic Board Games You Can Make and Play. Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1981. ISBN 0-13-683367-5