I've recently taken to ending the day by playing Ludo against 3 bots on https://hivesuite.app/dashboard/games and decided to record a game against three bots to show how I approach it.
Actually, it seems quite mad to video a game of ludo! So it goes...
Let's face it, Ludo is mainly a game of chance. You can be making good progress around the board only to see your counter sent straight back home because of an fortuitous die roll.
However, once you have several counters on the board, there's a bit more to think about.
Machiavelli tells us that while Fortuna controls approximately 50% of human affairs, "virtù," or human intelligence and audacity, gives us some say in the matter...
So, on the ludo board, I try to counter fortune by spreading my counters around to give myself more options, make use of safe squares, and look for opportunities to capture my opponents' pieces. Sometimes it's worth pushing forward, while at other times it's better to play cautiously and wait for a more favourable roll.
Of course, if you only have one counter in play, then you are at the mercy of Fortuna, and if you do not win the favour of that capricious goddess, you may be stuck at home and unable to roll a six for the duration of the game!
So it goes.
Meanwhile, the bots have their own priorities. Whenever they have more than one counter in play, they will always favour the most advanced counter unless they can use another counter to send an opponent's counter home. For us humans, the trick is to make the best of the options the dice give you, rather than simply moving whichever counter is furthest ahead as the bots do.
Once you have more than one counter in play, you immediately have some options. In the Hivesuite ludo game there are eight safe squares to aim for, and four other squares that slightly improve your probability of surviving. If possible, it is good to remain on a safe square when an opponent's counter is approaching so as to let it overtake. In short, there are more options available to you once you have two or more counters in play than you might imagine...
Playing games on HiveSuite
HiveSuite is a Hive blockchain frontend with a growing range of features, including an expanding collection of online games. You can find the ludo game and a bunch of other games here: https://hivesuite.app/dashboard/games
So, what do you reckon? Is Ludo mostly luck, or can a bit of tactical thinking make a real difference?
Watch my video, see how I perform, and let me know!
Cheers!