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Naija ludo rules

How to play ludo the Nigerian way, as played in the Surulere Games Lounge. Updated 18 October 2026.

Ludo in Nigeria is not the gentle game on the back of the box. You throw two dice, there's nowhere to hide on the board, and when you kill someone's piece, yours goes straight home. Get all four of your pieces home first to win.

The board and pieces

Two to four people play: red, green, yellow and blue. Each player has four pieces, which start in their base (the big coloured corner). Draw lots to decide who starts; play then goes clockwise, from red to green to yellow to blue.

A piece comes out onto its start square, goes once round the board, then turns into its own coloured home column and walks up to the middle. That's 56 steps from the start square to home. Only your own pieces ever go into your home column.

Throwing the dice

• You throw two dice every turn. Each die is a move of its own: give both to one piece, one after the other, or move two pieces with one die each.
• When you give both dice to one piece, it moves by one die, then the other. Where it lands in between counts: it can kill on the way (see below), and then it is home, so the other die goes to another piece.
• If you can use a die, you must. If a die can't move any piece, it's wasted. Your turn ends when both dice are used or neither can be.
• Double six throws again. Use both sixes, then throw again. There's no limit and no penalty for throwing double six again and again.

Coming out with a six

A piece can only leave its base with a 6, and a 6 on either die is enough. Using the 6 puts the piece on its start square. Then use the other die on that piece or any other.

Throw a 6 and a 4: bring a piece out with the 6, then move it 4 squares (or move another piece 4). Throw a double six: bring out two pieces, or bring one out and move it 6, then throw again.

Killing: no safe squares

Land exactly on a square where an opponent's piece is standing and you kill it: it goes back to its base and has to come out with a 6 again. Then the Naija twist: your piece goes straight home, as if it had walked the whole way.

• There are no safe squares. Not the start squares, not anywhere on the main track. The only safe place is your own home column.
• No blocks. Two pieces of one colour on the same square don't stop anybody. Land on them and you kill them both.
• Even coming out can kill. If an opponent is sitting on your start square when you bring a piece out, it goes back to base and your new piece goes home.
• Passing over a piece does nothing. Only landing on it counts.

Getting home

You need the exact number to get home. If your piece is 3 steps from home, a 5 can't move it: use the 5 on another piece instead. The first player to get all four pieces home wins.

Naija rules vs box rules

The rules printed with many ludo sets are different. If you learned from the box, here's what changes:

Tips to win

• Never pass up a kill. It sends an opponent back to base and gets your own piece home in one move. That's two good things at once.
• Mind the danger zone. With two dice, an opponent can reach anything up to 12 squares in front of their piece. Don't stop just ahead of somebody if you can help it.
• Get pieces out early. A piece in base can't move or kill. Use your sixes to bring pieces out, so you have choices when the dice come.
• Split your dice to escape. When a piece is in danger, use one die to move it away and the other to push on with another piece.
• Get into your home column. Once a piece is in its own column, nobody can touch it.

Ludo in Lagos Hotel

• Tap a die, then a glowing piece. The pieces that die can move light up. If only one move is possible, it plays itself.
• Same dice on every screen. The dice are worked out from the game itself, so everyone at the table sees exactly the same throw.
• Play with people or the house. Sit at the ludo table in the Surulere Games Lounge and invite whoever is in the room. Empty seats go to the hotel's own players: Aunty Ngozi, Bros Emeka, Sisi Funmi and Baba Ludo.
• Network wahala? If a player drops out, a house player keeps their seat warm, and they take it back as soon as they return.
• Play at home. Buy a ludo table from the furniture shop, put it in your apartment and play with your visitors.
• Get on the champions board. Wins against real people count towards today's champions on the lounge wall. Games against only the house players don't count.