LUDO NO MERCY RULES
Four pawns to finish.
A score to settle.
With 2–4 players, everyone races to finish all four pawns first. Here’s how to spend your dice, protect your progress and get out of prison in our version of Ludo.
A 6 to enter. A sequence to work with.
The game uses one die. Keep rolling while you get a 6; the first result below 6 completes your sequence. Wait until all rolls are finished before moving. You can spend the values in your chosen order, split them between pawns or add them together. Bringing a pawn out of home onto its starting square costs a 6.
Keep your pawns safe from capture.
Pawns on a star cannot be captured, and even opponents can share the same star. On an ordinary square, two or more allied pawns form a protected stack. A move can pass through a stack if it continues beyond that square. To capture on the main track, you must land on an ordinary square occupied by just one opposing pawn.
Captured pawns take a trip to prison.
Land exactly on a lone opponent’s square to capture their pawn and send it to your prison. Its owner can spend a 6 to recover it. The pawn returns to its own home, where it stays locked until their next turn; another 6 is needed to put it back on the board. Recovery is still allowed when the remaining dice cannot be played.
The Moonwalk: go backwards to capture.
Moving backwards is allowed only when it makes a legal capture. Use one value or a combination from your sequence to reach the target. After the Moonwalk, your pawn cannot move again until your next turn. As with any capture, there must be at least one legal continuation that uses every remaining die, if any remain.
Enter their home lane. Plan your way out.
From the main track, you can capture a lone opposing pawn in its own home lane by paying the exact distance. The captured pawn goes to your prison; your invading pawn becomes a prisoner in the opponent’s lane. To free it, spend two 6s rolled consecutively in the same sequence. It returns to that lane’s entrance square and cannot move again until your next turn. Freeing a prisoner is still allowed when the remaining dice cannot be played.
Finish all four pawns with exact moves.
Enter your own home lane through its entrance and move towards the centre. You must reach the final position exactly; overshooting is not allowed. The first player to finish all four pawns wins and ends the match. Cosmetics never change these rules.
Before you roll.
Why might a capture be refused?
Stars and opposing stacks are protected. A capture is also refused if it leaves an impossible remainder. The game checks for a legal continuation that uses every remaining die—not just one possible next move.
What’s the difference between recovering and freeing a pawn?
A normally captured pawn costs one 6 to recover to its own home. A pawn imprisoned after invading a home lane needs two consecutive 6s and returns to the opponent’s lane entrance. In either case, it must wait until the next turn to move again.
How can I learn the rules by playing?
The in-game tutorial lets you practise movement, captures, Moonwalks, prison recovery and the home lane. Find the lessons in the Guide whenever you want to revisit a move before your next match.
Settle it on the board?
The dice are ready. Your move.