The first real decision in a game of Ludo online comes when you throw your second six. You have one piece out, and a six lets you either bring a second piece out or move the first six squares. It is a small choice with long consequences, and it deserves a careful look.
When is there a real choice?
On my table, if only one move is legal, it is played for you, since there is nothing to decide. A choice exists only when you have two or more legal moves. With one piece out and a six in hand, you have exactly that: the old piece can go six squares, or a new piece can come out.
Why is a second piece usually right?
Three reasons, each with a number behind it.
First, sixes are rare. A six comes once in six throws, and the average wait is six throws. If you waste a six on moving a piece you already have, you pay the price of a future wait for the second one.
Second, spare pieces absorb awkward throws. A piece waiting near home needs one exact number, and the average wait is six throws. While it waits, every other throw would be wasted without a second piece to move.
Third, a second piece gives you choices later. With two on the board, you can run one and hide the other, attack with one and guard with the other.
When is running better?
Run when the first piece is in danger. A piece one to six squares ahead of an enemy is hit with chance one in six on the enemy's next throw. If a six takes it out of that zone, or onto a safe square, running may be worth more than a new piece.
Run also when the new piece would arrive in danger. Your entry square is safe, so a freshly released piece is protected, but if an enemy sits just behind your entry square, the piece will be exposed on its next move.
What about a six with three pieces already out?
Then the choice is wider. You can bring out the last piece, advance the leader, attack, or reinforce a pair. A useful test is to ask what the six buys that no other number could. Only a six brings a piece out, so if a piece is still in base, using the six that way is usually worth more than moving six squares. The exception is a leader that needs exactly six squares to come home, and that can win the game on the spot.
A rule of thumb
Bring out a piece when:
you have fewer than two pieces on the board;
your pieces are not in immediate danger;
no capture is available.
Run, capture or guard first when any of those is false.
How do you practise?
Play a few games, and every time you throw a six, say aloud which option you took and why. Within a couple of games the pattern is clear. The free ludo table at Boardit is a good place for it, since you can play ludo with friends in a browser, two to four seats, and the ludo rules are enforced by the table. A short turn clock of thirty seconds gives you time for a real decision.
Does this change with the number of players?
A little. In a two-player game, enemies are fewer, so running matters less and spreading out more. In a four-player game, three rivals share the track, and safety counts for more. Adjust your rule of thumb to the crowd.
What the choice teaches
The decision is a small lesson in trading present safety against future flexibility. Children can feel it at once, and it is one of the reasons the game stays interesting after the hundredth play.
Ahmed Moaz builds Boardit, a free browser game site.