Editing Snakes and ladders (section)

==Gameplay==
[[Image:Cnl03.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|right|Milton Bradley ''Chutes and Ladders'' gameboard {{circa|1952}}. The illustrations show good deeds and their rewards; bad deeds and their consequences.]]
Each player starts with a token on the starting square (usually the "1" grid square in the bottom left corner, or simply, at the edge of the board next to the "1" grid square). Players take turns rolling a single [[Dice|die]] to move their token by the number of squares indicated by the die rolled. Tokens follow a fixed route marked on the gameboard which usually follows a [[boustrophedon]] (ox-plow) track from the bottom to the top of the playing area, passing once through every square. If, on completion of a move, a player's token lands on the lower-numbered end of a "ladder", the player moves the token up to the ladder's higher-numbered square. If the player lands on the higher-numbered square of a "snake" (or chute), the player moves the token down to the snake's lower-numbered square.{{cn|date=October 2024}}

If a ''6'' is rolled, the player, after moving, immediately rolls again for another turn;<ref>Parlett (1999), p. 91: "An additional throw is conferred by a six if one die is used, or a double if two."</ref> otherwise play passes to the next player in turn. The player who is first to bring their token to the last square of the track is the winner.{{cn|date=October 2024}}

===Variations===
[[File:Snakes and Ladders board.jpg|thumb|Modern snakes and ladders board]]
Variants exists where a player must roll the exact number to reach the final square. Depending on the variation, if the die roll is too large, the token either remains in place or goes off the final square and back again. (For example, if a player requiring a ''3'' to win rolls a ''5'', the token moves forward three spaces, then back two spaces.) In certain circumstances (such as a player rolling a ''5'' when a ''1'' is required to win), a player can end up further away from the final square after their move, than before it.{{cn|date=October 2024}}

In the book ''[[Winning Ways]]'', the authors propose a variant that they call ''Adders-and-Ladders'', which, unlike the original game, involves skill. Instead of tokens for each player, there is a store of indistinguishable tokens shared by all players. The illustration has five tokens (and a five by five board). There is no die to roll; instead, the player chooses any token and moves it one to four spaces. Whoever moves the last token to the Home space (i.e. the last number) wins.<ref>{{cite web|title=BoardGameGeek|url=https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/951182/rules-adders-ladders|access-date=24 August 2020|website=boardgamegeek.com}}</ref>