Ludo has a reputation as a game for a whole family, and the box usually shows four colours. Yet it works well with just two people, and I think it is an underrated entry among 2 player board games online. A pair can finish it in one evening, and every move is aimed at a single rival. This article covers how Ludo plays at a table of two, what the rules change, and how to set it up so it feels fair.
How do two players sit on the board?
Two players take opposite corners. I built it that way so neither one starts a quarter-lap behind the other. The whole arrangement is then turned by a random quarter-turn, so the same two colours do not always land in the same places. Turn order follows seat order, as the lobby showed it.
Each player owns four pieces, all in base. Nothing leaves base until its colour throws a six, and that rule is where a two-player game begins.
Which Ludo rules matter most with two?
The rules of Ludo stay the same at any table size, but a few of them bite harder with two.
A six frees a piece from base. It also earns another throw, and so do captures and bringing a piece home.
A third six on the trot forfeits the turn.
An exact hit on a lone rival sends that piece back to base.
A doubled-up pair is untouchable.
Eight of the 52 track squares are safe: each colour's entry square and four stars.
The centre needs the exact number.
With one opponent, there is only one source of danger. Leave a piece within a short hop of your rival's piece, and any throw of the right number hits it. That is a chance of one in six on each throw, about 17 percent. With three rivals those threats arrive from several sides. With one, you can watch them coming.
Is a game of two shorter or longer?
Boardit lists a game of Ludo at thirty to sixty minutes, with room for two to four players.
At two seats there are fewer captures overall, since only one rival can send you home. That makes long chases rarer. The clock keeps the pace: you get thirty seconds a turn, and the game rolls for you if you run out.
The wait for a first six is the slowest part. On average it takes six throws to see one. In my calculation, 57.9 percent of runs of three throws contain no six at all. If that wait bores you, the host has a fix.
What can the host change?
The host can enable three attempts at a six when no piece is out. Then the chance of at least one six in a turn climbs to 42.1 percent, since three throws are allowed. The host can also turn off extra throws for captures and for a piece coming home. A six always throws again.
For the shortest game, choose Quick Ludo. Each player gets two pieces rather than four, and the game runs roughly five minutes. The rules stay the same.
How do you play Ludo online with friends?
Create a table on the Ludo page, send the five-character code or link to your friend, and wait for them to sit. A guest gives a display name, and that is all. Since it all runs in a browser, ludo with friends works on a phone, a tablet or a laptop, from different towns, with a video call open if you like.
Should a seat go quiet across two consecutive turns, a bot covers it until the person returns. A weak signal therefore will not end the game.
What if nobody is free tonight?
The host can fill an unfilled seat with a bot. That one opponent already makes a complete game. The bot is named as a bot, so there is no doubt about who you are playing.
What I like about it
Ludo for two is a simple game with plenty of shared tension. There are no heavy decisions. You throw, you choose a piece, and you hope. The pleasure is in small risks: which piece to move, whether to hide on a star, and when to leave a pair behind as a wall.
Want something quick? Try Quick Ludo. Want an evening? Play the full game with four pieces each.
Ahmed Moaz builds Boardit, a free browser game site.