Snakes and Ladders: Rules and How to Play

Roll and race to 100 with 2–6 players. Climb ladders and slide down snakes. About 10 minutes. Free in your browser, with no registration.

Setup

2–6 players. Play alone with three CPU players. All pieces start outside the board.
Start at 1 in the bottom left. Follow each row back and forth to 100 at the top left.

Roll one die on your turn and move that many squares. Your first roll enters on the square matching the die.
Landing at a ladder’s foot takes you up; landing on a snake’s head takes you to its tail. Passing over has no effect.
A six gives another roll after movement, even if you could not move. There is no penalty for three sixes.
Any number of pieces may share a square. There is no capturing, pushing or blocking.

The first player to reach exactly 100 wins and the game ends. Stay in place on an overshoot.
Other players rank by their current square; equal squares share a rank. Resigned players share last place.
Play again rotates the first player by one seat.

Anything the party can change is listed in the house rules table.
Item	Default on this site
Players	2–6 players (set automatically by the party size)
Turn time limit	None by default (the host can set 30 or 60 seconds)
If someone drops mid-game	Reopening on the same device returns you to your seat. If you do not return, the CPU plays in your place.
Draws	In ranked play, a draw counts as halfway between a win and a loss for your rating.
Source of the rules	Based on the standard reference rules

Rules supervised by Qdan, Inc. (based on the standard reference rules)

Defaults follow the standard reference rules. The party can change these.

Default is this site’s setting. Changeable shows whether the party can change it.
Name	Description	Default	Changeable
StartingStartingEnter on the first roll puts you on the square matching the roll. Wait for a six puts you on square 1 when you roll a six, then you roll again (unless extra rolls are off). Time estimates are for four players.	Enter on the first roll, or wait for a six.	Enter on the first roll (about 7–12 min)	Changeable
Reaching the goalReaching the goalStay means waiting for the exact roll to reach 100. Bounce back moves the excess back from 100; a snake or ladder on the landing square also applies. Reach or pass wins even with an overshoot. Time estimates are for four players.	Choose what happens when a roll goes beyond 100.	Exact roll, otherwise stay (about 7–12 min)	Changeable
Roll again on a six	After resolving a six, the same player rolls again.	On	Changeable

What if I keep rolling sixes?

Each six gives another roll. There is no limit or penalty.

What if I roll past 100?

By default you stay where you are and wait for the exact roll. Settings also offer bouncing back or winning on reaching 100.

Last updated 2026-11-02 · Run by Qdan, Inc.