Where does Snakes and Ladders come from?

It is traced to India, where an early version was called Moksha Patam. Its squares showed virtues as ladders and vices as snakes.

How long does a game take?

Usually fifteen to thirty minutes, depending on how many snakes and ladders are landed on.

What do the snakes do?

They carry you down to a lower square. Ladders carry you up.

What do you roll with?

A single six-sided die in the standard game.

What happens if a roll goes past 100?

In most versions you must land exactly on 100. Any extra is wasted, so you wait for a roll that fits.

What age is right for Snakes and Ladders?

Around four or five, once a child can count to six and recognise numbers up to 100.

Snakes and ladders: the 100-square game, its history, and how to play it with children

Snakes and ladders is one of the oldest board games still played in homes. Roll the dice, move your counter, climb the ladders and slide down the snakes. Nobody has to make a decision, which is exactly why small children love it and why it is so useful for teaching numbers.

The board

The board has 100 squares in ten rows of ten. The numbers run left to right on the top row, then back right to left on the next row, in a zigzag. Each game has a set of ladders that climb up the board and snakes that slide back down.

The board. Ladders climb and snakes slide. The zigzag numbering is what makes it useful for counting.

The history

The game is traced to India, where a version called Moksha Patam was played. In that version the ladders stood for virtues, which lifted a player up the board, and the snakes stood for vices, which pulled them back. Versions spread along trade routes and were later changed into the game most families know today.

How to play

Each player puts a counter on the start square, off the board.
Players take turns to roll one die and move their counter forward by the number shown.
If you land on the bottom of a ladder, climb to the top square.
If you land on the head of a snake, slide down to its tail.
The first player to land exactly on square 100 wins.

Some families require an exact roll to finish, so a player who is on 98 needs a two. Others let the game end on any roll that passes 100. Agree on this before the first turn.

Teaching numbers

Snakes and ladders teaches children to read the numbers on the board, to count the squares they move, and to see that the numbers follow a pattern. The zigzag row is the part that confuses young children. Point to each row and read it aloud. After a few games, most children stop needing to.

For the youngest players

Children under four may not yet count the squares. Let them move their counter and count the dots on the die aloud with you. Use a board with fewer squares if you have one, and cheer every ladder. The snakes will not bother them for long.