<h2>Introduction</h2>
<p>
The Ludo is played with 4 players, each one plays it by themselves. An own
game board is used, together with a six sided dice and 4 sets of 4 pawns,
where each set is of a different color. Each player uses one of the set
pieces’ to play. </><h2>Game Board</h2><p>The Ludo Game Board has 72
places in all, besides the 4 initial areas and 4 ending areas. These areas
have different colors that are the same as the pawns. Between the 72
places, 20 of them are part of the 4 final sets that are also the same
color. This way, each player has an initial area and a final line and a
final place. </p><h2>Game Match</h2><p>Each player starts with the four
pawns in the initial places that are setted in the initial areas. The
match is played in individual shifts, and after each shift the turn is
passed to the next player clockwise (to the player on the left of the
player of the time). The player that starts the game and plays the first
shift is raffled. </p>
<h2>Objective</h2>
<p>The
objective of the player is to conduct all their pawns through the game
board from the initial areas until the final areas of their
color.</p><h3>Shift</h3><p>In a Ludo’s shift, the player of the time
receives the dice and throws it. The dice’s result determinates which
movements are possible to do in this shift. After they move one of their
pawns (if it is possible), he passes the turn to the next player.
</p><p>Some situations allow that the player plays extra turns. The extra
shift is played the same way, that is, the player throws the dice and
makes the move. A lot of extra shifts can occur after, if the player
fulfills the conditions. </p><h3>Leaving the Initial Area</h3><p>The
player can not move freely a pawn if it is not in the initial place. They
need to take 6 in the dice to do that. </p><p>In case the player takes 6
in the dice, they can take off one of their pawns that are in the initial
area and move to the entrance of their color. This place of entrance is
colorful and is close to the initial area. The pawns that get in this
place are able to move through the game board in future moves. This
movimentation ends your turn. </p><p>In case the result of the dice
doesn't be 6 and all their pawns are in the initial area, they don’t have
valid moves, and have to pass the turn. That occurs frequently in the
beginning of the game, when all the players are with their pawns in this
area. </p><h3>Taking 6 in the dice</h3><p>During all the game, everytime a
player takes 6 in the dice, they receive an extra turn, after their
movimentation. As a consequence, everytime a player puts one of their
pawns in the entrance place, they can play another turn after that.
</p><p>In case the player takes 6 three consecutive times, they pass the
turn immediately, and don’t move any pawn.
</p><h3>Movimentation</hh3><p>In case the player one or more pawns is able
to move through the game board, they can use the result of the dice to
move any of it. To make it, they have to choose an able pawn and move it
in the clockwise way of the game board through an amount of places exactly
the same as the dice’s result. This movimentation ends up their turn.
</p><p>In your movimentation, the pawn can pass freely through any place
and gets into their destiny place (determinated by the result of the
dice), independently of the numbers of pawns that are in that place. This
way, there’s no limit to the number of pawns that a place can contain and
there’s no barriers in the movimentartion. </p><h3>Capture</h3><p>A
capture occurs when a pawn of a player ends their moves in a place where
only exists a single pawn and its pawn is of an adversary player. When it
occurs, the adversary pawn returns to their initial place of its
respective color, and the player that made the capture receives an extra
shift. </p><p>The captured pawn must be in the destiny place that is
moving, and not through the way. Therefore, to capture a pawn the player
has to take in the dice an exact number as the distance between their pawn
to the adversary pawn. </p><p>In case the player captures a pawn after
taking 6 in the dice, they receive two extra shifts : one shift for the 6
in the dice and another for the capture. </p><h3>Safe Places</h3><p>Some
places protect the pawns that are in it and prevent their capture. Are
they: places close to the entrance of each player (close to the initial
areas) and the places with a symbol of a star. </p><p>In this places, even
if a pawn is alone, it can not be captured. This way, if a player moves
another pawn to this place, both adversaries' pawns stay together in this
place. </p><p> The entrance places of each player prevent the capture of
any pawn, not only pawns of the same color. This way, they are safe for
any player. The same is for the places with a star. </p><h3>Final
line</h3><p>Each player has a final line of their own color, composed of 5
colorful places. This line works as a bridge that links the simple places
of the game board with the final area of the player. </p><p>The places of
the final line can only be accessed for the pawns of its respective
player. A pawn can get in this line only by the place next to it that is
farest of the center of the game board, that is reached after the pawn
gives almost a complete round through the game board. No pawn can pass the
entrance of the line of the same color and give a complete round in the
game board. </p><p>As the only pawns that can enter in the final lineare
the pawn of its respective color, the final line places are automatically
safe.</p><h3>Final Area</h3><p>To put a pawn in the final area, the player
has to take a result exactly the same as the distance between their pawn
and this area. In case they reach this result, they can move their pawn
til the area and end up their turn. Done this, this pawn came into its
destiny and can not be moved until the end of the game. </p><p>In case the
result of the dice is bigger than the distance between the pawn and the
final area, this pawn cannot be moved.</p><p>Every time that a player
comes with one of their pawns in the final area he receives an extra
shift. In case the player does that after taking a 6 in the dice, he
receives two extra shifts: one for the 6 in the dice and another for the
final area. </p><h3>End of the game</h3><p>The game’s end when a player
comes with all their 4 pawns in the final area. This player is the winner.
At GameVelvet, the order of classification of the players is determined
after the check of points. </p><h2>Score</h2><p>The score of each player
is calculated based on how far they are from the initial area their pawns
are at the end of the game. Each pawn that came in the final place costs
250 points, and the rest of them cost as points as their distance that
they are from the initial area. The winner always ends the game with 1000
points. </p><p>Example: at the end of the game, a player came with a pawn
in the final space (250 points), walked 20 spaces with another pawn (20
points), put a pawn in the entrance space (1 point) and finished with a
pawn in the initial area (0 points). This player summed 271 points. </p>
Curiosities
History
The game Scopa ("broomstick" in italian) is, up to
today, one of the most popular card game in Italy. The fun is
eternalized in country cities, where italians play games at the parks,
challenging each other and yelling Fatto Scopa! (wiped the table) every
time they do it.
Traditionally, Scopa is played with a Napolitan card deck (from Naples -
in italian Napoli, in neapolitan Napule - an iintalian community from
the south of Italy, at Campania region, world famous for it's history,
music, natural appeal and the land where pizza was invented.
At the Napolitan card deck there are 4 suits: Coppe (Hearts), Ori
(Diamonds), Spade (Spades) and Bastoni (Clubs) with values from 1 (Ace)
to 7, plus 3 figures: Fante (Jacks, worth 8), Cavallo (Queen, worth 9)
and Re (King, worth 10).
The rules are basically the same as Italian Scopa from GameVelvet. And
there are more traditional Scopa variants, like the "Asso piglia tutto"
(Ace takes all), where the player that plays an Ace draws all cards on
the table.
The game is played very often at the italian descendents communities all
around the world, being popularized during the 20th century.
<p>In
the end of each turn is calculated the score obtained by each pair in this
following way: </p><p>4 points of ‘Cards’:</p><ul><li>The pair that caught
more cards receives 1 point. In case of tie the point is not given.
</p><ul><li>The pair that caught more cards in the Diamonds suit (spanish
cards) or Denari (neapolitan cards) receives 1 point. In case of tie the
point is not given. </li></ul><ul><li>The pair that wins the ‘Primiera’
receives 1 point. The Primiera is calculated the following way: the 7
worth 21 points, the 6 worth 18 points, the Ace worth 16 points, the 3
worth 13 points, the 2 worth 12 points and the figures 10 points. Each
pair sums the points of only a card of each suit between those they
caught. Who has the higher score wins the Primiera. Example: a pair caught
7 of Hearts, 7 of Clubs, 7 Of Diamonds and 6 of Spades reaches 81 points.
The other pair can have maximum the 7 of Spades and the 6 of the other
suits (Clubs, Hearts and Diamonds), as a total of 75 points. Soon, the
Primiera point goes to the first pair. In case of tie this point is not
given. </li><li>The pair that caught the <b> 7 of Diamonds (called ‘Sette
Bello’)</b> receives 1 point. Besides those, are given the following
points: </li><li>Each Scopa worth 1 point. </li></ul><p> The points
obtained in each hand are summed with the previous one and the pair that
reaches or passes the 16 points first wins the game. If two pairs reach or
pass the 16 points in the same hand, whoever has the highest score wins.
In care of standart are played one or more hands of breaking of a draw,
until finishes the equality. </p>