How to play Ludo FightersRoll. Deploy. March. Open fire.
Ludo Fighters plays like the Ludo you already know, with one big change: every capture is a short cartoon gun fight. Here is every rule, end to end, in the order you meet them in a match.
The mission
Four soldiers out. Four soldiers home.
March all four of your soldiers out of base, once around the board and up your coloured lane into the centre. Do it before the other squads do. Along the way you will fight, hide and gamble on the dice.
- squads: Red, Green, Yellow, Blue
- 4
- squads: Red, Green, Yellow, Blue
- soldiers on the board
- 16
- soldiers on the board
- squares on the main track
- 52
- squares on the main track
- squares in each home lane
- 5
- squares in each home lane
- safe squares with shields
- 8
- safe squares with shields
- players, human or Lumi AI
- 1–4
- players, human or Lumi AI
Step by step
The rules, in order
Ten steps take you from your first roll to the winning move. Each one is how the game actually plays, not a guess.
- 01
Roll the die
On your turn, tap the big dice button. If only one soldier can move, he goes by himself. If several can, the ones you can move light up and you tap the one you want.
- 02
Roll a 6 to leave base
Every soldier starts in your base. A 6 sends one out onto your coloured start square. Groups who want a faster game can switch this rule off in Custom match.
Deploy - 03
March around the track
Your soldier marches clockwise, one square per pip, around the 52-square track. Soldiers hop over anyone in the way. Only the square you finish on matters.
- 04
Land on an enemy: gun fight
Finish exactly on an enemy soldier and yours stops one square short. Both raise rifles, three shots ring out, the enemy is knocked out and respawns in their base. Your soldier steps onto the square.
- 05
Stars carry a shield
The four coloured start squares and the four star squares are safe. Land on an enemy there and your shot bounces off a blue shield. Nobody is knocked out and you share the square.
- 06
Turn up your home lane
After a full lap your soldier leaves the track and turns into the five squares of your own coloured home lane. Enemies can't follow you in there.
- 07
Reach home with an exact roll
To step into the centre you need the exact number. Three squares from home? Only a 3 moves that soldier in. This rule is on by default and can be switched off.
- 08
Earn extra turns
Roll a 6, win a gun fight or get a soldier home and you roll again. The 6 and the gun-fight bonus are house rules you can switch off.
- 09
Three 6s in a row forfeits
Get greedy and roll a 6 three times in a row and your turn is over. It stops a lucky streak running away with the game. You can switch this off too.
- 10
Get your squad home to win
The first player with all four soldiers home wins. Short on time? Pick the First home rule and the first soldier to reach the centre wins it.
Read the board
Where you are safe, and where you are not
Two things decide most fights: the eight shielded squares, and the home lanes nobody else can enter.
Eight safe squares
Gold: the four coloured start squares, where soldiers deploy. Blue: the four star squares. On any of the eight, a soldier is shielded and cannot be knocked out. The shield-star rule is on by default and can be switched off.
Home lanes and the exact finish
Each squad has its own five-square lane into the centre, shown here on the Night Ops battlefield where the lanes glow. This red soldier sits three squares out, so only a 3 brings him home. A soldier that makes it gets a gold star on his helmet.
Captures
Fight, shield, or nothing at all
The die decides which of these three things happens. Here they are side by side on a short stretch of track.
Exact landing: gun fight
Red rolls a 4 and would finish on yellow. Red stops one short, wins the fight, then steps in. Yellow goes back to base.
Star square: shield
Same roll, but yellow is on a star. The shot ricochets off the shield and both soldiers share the square.
Passing by: nothing
Red rolls a 5 and hops straight over yellow. Only the square you finish on counts, so nobody fires.
Variant
One die, or two dice
In Custom match you can play with two dice. You roll both, then make two moves: one for the first die, then one for the second, with the same soldier or two different ones.
- Roll doubles and you get a bonus turn.
- A die that has no legal move is simply skipped.
- The three-6s forfeit applies to single-die play.
Example turn
- 1Move a 4: march your lead soldier onto an enemy for a gun fight.
- 2Move a 2: hop a back soldier onto a shield star.
Victory
Two ways to call a winner
Pick the win rule before the match in Custom match. The default is the classic one.
Default
All 4 home
The full match. Every soldier in your squad has to make it to the centre. Expect comebacks: one lucky gun fight can send a runaway leader back to base.
Quick
First home
A sprint. The first soldier to reach the centre wins the match for his squad. Great when you only have a few minutes.
Rules questions
Settle the argument
The questions that come up at every table, answered by how the game actually works.
Can I knock out a soldier on a star?+
What if two enemies stand on the square I land on?+
Do I capture soldiers I jump over?+
Can I turn the gun fights off?+
What happens when I can't move?+
Rules learned. Squad ready.
Ludo Fighters is coming soon to Google Play and the App Store. Learn the modes next, or see how a gun fight plays out frame by frame.