Snakes and Ladders is simpler than it first looks. Each player has one token on a 10x10 folding track from 1 to 100. Land on a ladder foot and you climb; land on a snake head and you slide. This site uses the public-domain game: one six-sided die, no extra turn on a 6, no capturing, and no swapping. Learn the fold in the figure below and a first game is much less likely to read 11 or 100 backward.
Start in 30 seconds
You do not need to memorize this page before you play. Hold onto these five steps, then learn the rest while the game is moving:
- Black always rolls first. If you choose White against the AI, the AI takes the opening roll.
- Each turn you roll one six-sided die. Tokens start off the board at 0, so the first legal roll steps onto the matching square.
- The bottom row runs left to right from 1 to 10. The next row folds back right to left, so 11 sits directly above 10. Square 100 is at the top left.
- Land exactly on a ladder foot and you climb to the top. Land exactly on a snake head and you slide to the tail. There is one token each, with no capturing and no swapping.
- You must land exactly on 100 to win. If the roll would go past 100, the token stays put and the turn passes.
For game one, do not try to memorize every ladder. Watch three things: where this roll would land, whether that square is a snake or a ladder, and how many pips remain to 100. Keep those three in view and you are already playing with a plan.
How to read the board
The usual mistake is not the die count. It is reading the fold backwards. This site uses a 10x10 board numbered 1 to 100: the bottom row runs left to right from 1 to 10, the next row returns right to left, the next flips again, and so on to the top. Square 100 sits at the top left.
Each player has one token, and both start at 0, off the board, before stepping onto 1. A first roll of 1 lands on 1 and immediately climbs the ladder to 38. There are no safe squares, no blocking walls, and no special houses. A square is only a number, a ladder, or a snake.
How a turn works
A turn is really two steps: roll one six-sided die, then move your token that many squares. The board lights the landing square, so you do not have to compute the whole fold in your head. If the roll cannot be played, the turn passes and the token stays where it is.
A 6 does not grant another roll. You cannot send the other token back, and you cannot swap places. Both tokens may share a square. Almost every real decision happens after the landing: is it a ladder foot, a snake head, or a count still short of 100?
Ladders and snakes
Land exactly on a ladder foot and the token climbs to the top at once; that ends the turn. Snakes work the other way: land exactly on a head and you slide to the tail. Ladders and snakes trigger on the landing itself. Passing through those squares does nothing.
The heads near the finish are the ones that turn a nearly won race all the way back, so the closer you get to 100, the more you should ask whether this roll would step on a head. Miss a snake by one square and you are safe. Miss a ladder by one square and it is just an ordinary stop.
- Ladders: 1→38, 4→14, 9→31, 21→42, 28→84, 36→44, 51→67, 71→91, 80→100.
- Snakes: 16→6, 47→26, 49→11, 56→53, 62→19, 64→60, 87→24, 93→73, 95→75, 98→78.
What happens if you overshoot 100
Entry to 100 must be exact. If you sit on 97, a 3 finishes the game. A 4, 5, or 6 cannot be played: the token stays on 97 and the turn passes. The rule is waiting for the matching number; it does not let you run past 100 and bounce back.
The same rule applies on every square from 94 to 99. However many squares remain, only those dice enter 100. A 6 has no privilege here: it does not roll again, and it cannot force the token off the end of the track.
How you win
The first player to land exactly on 100 wins. There is no extra score for climbing ladders. Landing on 80 also wins, because that ladder finishes on 100.
Plenty of first games chase every long ladder. The real race is missing the late snake heads and waiting for the exact count. There is only one win condition: reach 100 legally before the other side does.
In an online room both players may resign or offer a draw. Against the AI, or on one device, you may resign or simply start a new game. If both sides agree, the site records a draw.
What changes by mode
All three modes use the same Snakes and Ladders rules. The difference is who you play and which tools you get. The home page against AI offers hints, undo, and move-by-move replay. Pass-and-play has undo and replay, but it does not hint for either side. Online rooms sync moves and dice, allow resign or a draw, and do not support one-sided undo.
If you have just finished this page, the best next step is not another article. Open Play vs AI and play a game. Watch the fold turn, see a ladder climb, and notice why a token stays put when the roll would pass 100. That is when these rules start to become feel. Once you can finish a game, the strategy page will stick much faster.
Common questions
Why doesn't a 6 let me roll again?
Because this public-domain ruleset has no extra turn on a 6. Each turn is one six-sided die, then the opponent plays. That is different from Ludo or Aeroplane Chess.
Why did my token stay put when I rolled past 100?
You must land on 100 exactly. If the number is too large, the move is illegal, the token stays, and the turn passes. You wait for a matching roll; you do not bounce back from beyond the finish.
Do ladders and snakes happen at once, or on the next turn?
They happen on the landing itself, and then the turn ends. Passing beside a ladder or a snake does not trigger it.
Is this Hasbro's Chutes and Ladders?
No. This site uses the public-domain game of Snakes and Ladders, not the Hasbro title. Ladders, snakes, and the exact-100 finish follow this board.
Does Black always start?
Every mode begins with Black rolling first. Against the AI you may sit Black or White. If you sit White, the AI rolls first.
Who rolls the die in an online room?
The roll is sent to the room as soon as it lands, so both players see the same face.