How to play Snakes & Ladders
The whole game in seven steps. If you have two minutes, you have the rules — then it is all down to the dice.
Last reviewed against the game:
1.Pick a mode
Choose Play with AI to race 1–5 automatic opponents, Pass & Play to share one device with 2–6 friends, or Play Online to race friends in a private room. Give each seat a name and a token colour, then tap Start Game.
2.Choose your game rules
Before the match starts, pick how it should finish. Classic Mode: the first player to reach 100 wins and the game ends on the spot. Last One Standing: reaching 100 locks in your finishing position — 1st, 2nd, 3rd… — and the rest keep racing until everyone reaches 100. In online rooms the host picks the rule for the whole table.
3.Roll the die
On your turn, tap the big Roll button. The die tumbles and shows 1–6, and your token walks that many squares along the numbered path — square 1 at the bottom-left, snaking row by row up to 100.
4.Climb ladders
Land exactly on the bottom of a ladder and your token climbs straight to the top square. It is the fastest way up the board — the biggest ladder rockets you from 28 all the way to 84.
5.Dodge snakes
Land on a snake's head and you slide down to its tail. The 87 snake drops you back to 24, and the cruellest one waits on 99 — one short of the finish — to send you down to 27. Snake tails are safe — only heads bite.
6.Sixes roll again
Roll a six and you get one bonus roll after your move. But two sixes in a row is the limit — a third six is never dealt, so the run always ends with a 1–5.
7.Finish exactly on 100
You need the exact count to land on square 100. If you roll more than you need, your token stays put and the turn passes. In Classic Mode the first token on 100 wins the game; in Last One Standing it takes 1st place and the race continues until everyone finishes.
Good to know
Starting off the board
Everyone starts off the board on square 0. Your very first roll carries you straight onto the board — no six is needed to begin.
Sharing a square
Any number of tokens can rest on the same square. There is no capturing in Snakes & Ladders — the race is against the board, not each other.
House rules
The exact-finish rule and the six-rolls-again rule can each be toggled in the Snake settings, so you can play the version your family grew up with.
Classic Mode vs Last One Standing
Classic Mode ends the instant anyone reaches 100 — one winner, game over. Last One Standing keeps the board alive: each player who reaches 100 is marked finished with their position, is skipped in the turn order, and the match ends only when every player has reached 100. The result screen then shows the complete finishing order.
Every ladder and snake on the board
The jungle board uses these nine ladders and ten snakes. A ladder only works from its bottom square and a snake only from its head; landing on the other end does nothing.
🪜 Ladders (up)
- 1 → 38
- 4 → 14
- 9 → 31
- 21 → 42
- 28 → 84
- 36 → 44
- 51 → 67
- 71 → 91
- 80 → 98
🐍 Snakes (down)
- 16 → 6
- 47 → 26
- 49 → 11
- 56 → 53
- 62 → 19
- 64 → 60
- 87 → 24
- 93 → 73
- 95 → 75
- 99 → 27
Playing with others
In pass & play, hand the device to whoever the glowing seat card names. In online rooms, everyone rolls from their own device — the room waits for the current player, and if someone stalls or disconnects, their turn is skipped after the countdown so nobody is stuck waiting; no roll is ever made on their behalf. Still curious about a rule? The Snakes & Ladders FAQ answers the common questions.