Naija Ludo: the rules Nigerians actually play by

In a lot of Nigerian homes the Ludo board lived on top of the wardrobe or under the parlour chair, a square of wood or cardboard with a cup and a die that somebody always accused of being “doctored”. Today it is just as likely to be on a phone: a 2026 feature in Leadership newspaper called the Ludo King app the most popular family game in Nigeria, because almost every phone can run it and almost everybody already knows the rules.

Except, of course, that everybody knows slightly different rules. Here are the ones most Nigerians start from, and the house rules you should agree on before the first throw, so that nobody leaves the game vexed.

Where Ludo comes from

Ludo is a simplified version of the Indian game Pachisi. It was sold under the name Ludo in England in 1896 (the name is Latin for “I play”), with a single cubic die in place of the cowrie shells Pachisi uses. It travelled far from Britain, and it settled in Nigeria as comfortably as anywhere.

The board and the pieces

A Ludo board is a cross with a track running round it. Each of up to four players has a colour, four pieces, a starting house in one corner, and a coloured home column leading up the middle to the centre.

The aim is simple: get all four of your pieces round the board and into the centre before anybody else.

The basic rules

1. You need a six to come out. Your pieces stay locked in their house until you roll a 6. A six brings one piece out onto your starting square.
2. Move by the number you roll. Move one piece forward that many squares, clockwise round the track.
3. A six gives you another throw. Roll a 6 and you play again. In the standard rules, three sixes in a row ends your turn with no move.
4. Landing on someone kills them. If your piece finishes its move on a square holding an opponent’s piece, that piece goes back to its house and must wait for another six. In Nigeria this is a kill, and it is announced loudly.
5. Safe squares. Starting squares and squares marked with a star are usually safe: nobody can be killed there.
6. Home column. Once a piece goes round and turns into its own coloured column, nobody else can touch it.
7. Exact roll to finish. To reach the centre you need the exact number. Roll too high and that piece cannot move.
8. First home wins. The first player with all four pieces home wins. Others can play on for second place, or for pride.

Blocks

In the standard rules, two of your own pieces on the same square make a block. Opponents cannot pass it, and in some versions an opponent who lands on a block is the one sent home. Blocks are what make Ludo a strategy game and not only a dice game: park two pieces just in front of a rival’s starting square and watch the frustration.

The house rules Nigerians argue about

This is where Naija Ludo really lives. Wikipedia lists a set of rules “reportedly played” across Africa, including in Nigeria and Ghana, and they match what a lot of Nigerian players will recognise:

• No home without a kill. Your first piece cannot go into its home column until it has killed an opponent. This makes the game longer and much more aggressive, and it is the rule most likely to start a quarrel if one person did not know.
• A kill earns a bonus throw. Send someone home and you roll again.
• Blocks stop everyone. A double block holds up your own pieces behind it too, not only your opponents’.
• Partners share. In a four-player game played as two teams, partners may swap dice numbers with each other.

Other things to settle before you start:

• One die or two? In some countries Ludo is played with two dice, using each number separately. Most Nigerian games use one, but ask.
• Does three sixes cancel? Some tables play it, many do not bother.
• Must you kill when you can? Some players say a kill on offer must be taken. Others call that wicked.
• Is the throw valid? If the die rolls off the board, or lands leaning on the edge, do you throw again? Agree now, not after a six.

Tips for winning at Ludo

• Spread out. Getting one piece home fast looks good, but four pieces in play give you more choices with every roll.
• Count the danger. Any opponent within six squares behind you can kill you with one throw. Stay on safe squares when someone is close.
• Use your sixes wisely. Bringing out a new piece is not always the best use of a six. Sometimes it is better to escape a threat.
• Block the starting square. A block just in front of an opponent’s house is cruel, and very effective.
• Keep calm. Ludo is a dice game. You will lose a piece one square from home at some point. Everybody does.

Playing Ludo on your phone

Ludo King, made by Gametion Technologies in India, is the app most people mean. It is free, paid for by adverts and in-app purchases, and has passed a billion downloads on the Google Play Store. You can pass one phone round the room, or invite friends in other cities with a code. The PlayOK website also has free online Ludo against live players in the browser. Whichever you use, check whether the app’s rules match your house rules before somebody accuses the phone of cheating.

Ludo, verandas and AJ Cities

Just so it is clear: there is no Ludo board in AJ Cities. It is a free open-world game in your browser, set on June 12 Street, a fictional estate street on the edge of Ajegunle, Lagos. But it is built out of the same kind of evenings. When the power goes, the tenants of Iloro House end up on the veranda, arguing about football and the price of rice, and someone always has a story. In AJ’s story you sit on that bench, two weeks back from London, broke, and try to work out how to pay the gate police ₦2,500,000. It is a different kind of game, but the same Lagos patience is required.

More from our Nigerian games series: how to play Whot, and the street games in our guide to traditional Nigerian games.

Do you need a six to start in Ludo?

In most Nigerian games, yes. Your pieces stay in their house until you roll a 6, and each six brings out one piece and gives you another throw.

What is a kill in Ludo?

Landing on a square holding an opponent’s piece sends that piece back to its house. Nigerians call it a kill. Starting squares and star squares are usually safe.

What is the “no home without a kill” rule?

A house rule reported in Nigeria and elsewhere in Africa: your first piece cannot enter its home column until it has killed an opponent’s piece. Agree on it before the game starts.

Where does Ludo come from?

Ludo is a simplified version of the Indian game Pachisi, sold as Ludo in England in 1896.

Is there Ludo in AJ Cities?

No. AJ Cities is an open-world game set on a Lagos estate street. Ludo is part of the life it is built from, not part of the game.