Ludo Duo
Roll, race your two tokens home, and knock theirs back. Race home.
Ludo Duo is 2-player Ludo with two tokens each, a faster game than the classic. Roll a six to bring a token out, move round the track, send rival tokens back to base, and get both of yours home first.
A big glowing dice, a token hopping square by square, a cheer of “Six! Roll again” and a thump when you send their token back to base. Two tokens each keeps the Ludo you know short enough for one sitting.
Also known as Ludo, 2 player Ludo, Ludo for two.
- How you hold it
- Pass and play
- Match
- Race home
- Length
- About 3 to 5 minutes
- Play
- Friend or bot
How to play Ludo Duo: quick rules
About 3 to 5 minutes. Full rules, options and bot levels are further down.
- 1Each player has two tokens; tap the dice to roll.
- 2A six brings a token out and gives another roll.
- 3Land on a rival token to send it to base; stars are safe.
- 4Three sixes in a row and you lose that turn.
- 5First home with both tokens wins; the dice are fair.
Ludo Duo rules
Setup and turns
- Each player has two tokens waiting in their base: Red in the bottom-left corner, Blue in the top-right. The track is one shared loop of 40 squares.
- Who rolls first is picked at random for a new match. On a rematch the player who lost rolls first, and in a tournament the first roll alternates, with Red first in game one.
- Tap the dice to roll. A six brings a token out of base onto your own start square.
- When a roll gives you two different moves, the tokens you can move glow and you tap one. With only one possible move it plays itself, unless you turn Auto-move off. With no move at all, “No move” shows and the turn passes.
Moving and capturing
- Tokens move clockwise, one square per pip, and never backwards. They can pass over any token: there are no blocks.
- Land on a square holding the other player's token, or both of them, and they go back to base. They need a six to come out again.
- Star squares and both start squares are safe. Nothing is captured there, and tokens of both colours can share them.
- Your own two tokens can share a square and still move one at a time.
Extra rolls and fair dice
- A six, a capture or a token reaching home each earns another roll. A move that does more than one of these still earns just one extra roll.
- Three sixes in a row and the third one is void: no move, and the turn passes with “Three sixes! Turn lost”.
- The dice are fair. Every roll is a random 1 to 6 from one sequence shared by both players, the bot included, and nothing adjusts it for streaks, luck or the score. Leaving and restarting the app can't re-roll anything: a new match gets new dice.
Home and winning
- There is no home lane and no exact roll needed: a token goes home on the roll that takes it past the end of its lap. Until then it is still on the track and can be captured.
- The first player with both tokens home wins at once, and the score shows 2 against the loser's tokens home. There are no draws.
- In the very rare match that runs on far too long, the game ends it and the player further around the board wins.
- On a rematch every token goes back to base, the dice get a fresh sequence and the player who lost rolls first.
Tips to win at Ludo Duo
- 1Get both tokens out early. With two tokens on the track, every roll gives you a choice instead of a forced move.
- 2Park on star squares and start squares when a rival token is within 6 squares behind you. Nothing can be captured there.
- 3When you can, capture. Sending a token back to base costs your rival a six to restart, and you get another roll.
- 4A token near the end of its lap is your biggest risk. Move it home quickly rather than leaving it in reach.
- 5Count the squares to the rival token behind you. Ending more than 6 squares ahead means no single roll can hit you.
Where Ludo Duo comes from
Ludo comes from Pachisi, a cross-and-circle race game played in India for centuries. A simplified version was patented in England as Ludo in 1896, and it has been a family favourite around the world ever since.
Controls
Upright, handed back and forth. A banner in the mover's colour says whose turn it is.
- Tap the dice below the board to roll. It glows when it's ready for your tap.
- When you have a choice, tap one of the glowing tokens. A token that can't move just gives a little shake.
- Pass the phone between turns. The banner names whose turn it is, and the dice waits a moment after the turn changes before it accepts a tap, so a bump during the handover doesn't roll.
- Taps during a roll, a hop or a banner are ignored, and only the first tap on the dice counts.
Options
Every option is free. Defaults are marked.
| Option | Choices | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Dice animation | OnOff (default) | On plays a quicker dice roll; the result and the fairness of the roll are the same either way. |
| Auto-move when only one choice | On (default)Off | With it off, you tap the token yourself even when there is only one move to make. |
Play Ludo Duo against the bot
The bot plays Blue with the same rules and the same fair dice. It never knows the next roll. When it has a choice it weighs captures, getting home, safe squares and danger before picking a token. Ludo leans on luck, so even the hardest bot can lose to a good run of rolls.
Easy
Ignores danger and often moves the wrong token.
Normal
Watches for danger and capture chances, but now and then picks a token at random when it has two moves.
Hard
Looks ahead over its own bonus rolls and the race home, and weighs the risk of being hit. It doesn't plan around your reply, and once in a while it still moves the other token.
Online, tournaments and hints
- Online
- One phone onlyLudo Duo plays on one phone; online play is for Tic Tac Toe and 4 in a Row today.
- Tournament
- Can be drawn in a tournamentA tournament game uses the default options (Dice animation off, Auto-move on), whatever your saved options, and the first roll alternates game by game, Red first in game one.
- Hints
- No hints here: it has no single best move to point at.
Coming soon
- Turn timer. An optional 15-second turn timer: when it runs out the game rolls for you, or plays the strongest move.
- Danger hints. An optional small warning mark on any token within reach of the other player's token, for learners.
- Exact roll to finish. An option for players used to needing the exact number to bring a token home.
How it feels
- The rattle of dice on wood, a soft clack as it settles, and a pop that rises in pitch with every square a token hops.
- A rising arpeggio and a sparkle on the dice for “Six! Roll again”.
- A heavy thump and a cartoon boing for “Captured!”, as the other token bounces back to its base.
- A cheerful jingle as a token spins into home, and a sad trombone when three sixes cost you the turn.
Accessibility
- Red and Blue tokens differ by shape as well as colour, and their bases sit in opposite corners.
- Tokens you can move get a dashed ring and a pulse, not just a colour change, and the roll is written beside the dice.
- With reduced motion, the tumble and the hops become short fades and banners appear without a bounce.
- A screen reader hears whose turn it is, the roll and where each token is. Every move is a single tap and there is no timer.
Ludo Duo questions
The first roll of a new match is picked at random. On a rematch, the player who lost rolls first.
Yes. A token can only leave base on a six, and the six also gives you another roll. A captured token needs another six to come back out.
Each player has two tokens instead of four, on a 40-square track. There are no blocks and no home lane, and a token goes home on any roll that takes it past the end of its lap, so no exact roll is needed.
No. The first player with both tokens home wins, and the rare game that runs far too long is won by the player further round the board.
Yes. Ludo Duo in Duo Clash is built for two players on the same phone. Upright, handed back and forth. A banner in the mover's colour says whose turn it is.
Yes. The bot plays Blue with the same rules and the same fair dice. Choose Easy, Normal or Hard.
Play Ludo Duo on one phone
Free on Android. Sit face to face, or take on the bot on Easy, Normal or Hard.
