How to play

Each player has four tokens in their corner, the yard. The goal is to take all four once round the board, up your own colored column and into the middle before anyone else.

Getting out: roll a 6 to move a token from your yard onto your start square, the colored square with the arrow.
Moving: roll the die, then tap the token you want to move. Tokens that can move glow. If only one move is possible, it’s made for you.
Rolling again: a 6 gives you another roll, and so does capturing a token or getting one home. Roll three 6s in a row, though, and your turn ends. A 6 none of your tokens can use (say they’re all nearly home) doesn’t give another roll either.
Capturing: land on another player’s token and it goes back to their yard.
Safe squares: the start squares and the stars. Nobody can be captured there, and tokens of different colors can share them.
Getting home: you need the exact number to land in the middle. A token in your colored column can’t be captured.
Winning: the first player with all four tokens home wins. The others play on for second and third place.

Ways to play

Against the computer. Set your color to Person and the others to Computer. Relaxed computer players move at random; Sharp ones capture when they can, run from danger and head for safe squares. Your wins are counted on this device.

Pass and play. Make two, three or four colors a Person and pass the phone or tablet round. You can mix people and computer players. The game is saved, so you can close the page and carry on later.

Aq mode. Switch it on before you start (online, the host switches it on in the room) for house rules many people grew up with. Two of your tokens on one square make a blockade: other players can’t pass it. A single token can land on it with the exact number, without capturing anything, and move on from there next time. Only two tokens moving together can capture a blockade. On an even roll you can move a pair together by half the number (2 moves them 1, 4 moves them 2, 6 moves them 3). And three 6s in a row cancel the whole turn: the moves you made with the first two are undone. Finally, when a token reaches the entrance to its colored column, tap it and a dotted circle (marked with an arrow) shows where it would land if it skipped going home. Tap that and confirm to send it round the board again to chase another player’s token. It can head home the next time it comes round.

Shahana’s mode. Aq mode plus a few more house rules. When you roll a 6 you roll again before moving anything, then use each number in any order: tap a token, and dashed circles show where each roll would take it; tap one to move. Until you've captured, a padlock sits on your home column. Three 6s in a row lose the lot. A 6 has to bring a token out of your yard if one is still there. Capturing doesn’t earn an extra roll, and you have to capture at least once before any of your tokens can go home (until then they go round again). Two of your tokens that meet on a plain square are stacked: they can only move together, on even rolls. A stack breaks up by itself at the end of your second turn with it (the turn it formed counts), or as soon as it lands on a safe square. A broken-up stack no longer blocks anyone, and a single token can capture both.

Auto play. Next to the board, Roll rolls for you when your turn comes, and 1 to 4 pick tokens to move for you: after each roll, the first picked token that can move is moved, going left to right. Drag the numbers to put them in the order you want. If none of them can move, you choose as usual.

Board colors. Under the auto buttons, pick a board: Classic, Night, Pastel, Wood or High contrast. It only changes how the board looks on your screen.

Online with friends. Create a room and send the link (or the four-letter code). Up to four people can play, and the computer can fill the empty seats. If your connection drops, your turns are played for you until you’re back; after two minutes away, a computer player takes over your color.

Questions

Is it free? Yes. No account, no download, nothing to pay for.

Is the die fair? Yes. Every roll is random, with each number equally likely. Online, the game server rolls, so nobody can change their dice.

Can two tokens block the way? Only in Aq mode and Shahana’s mode. With the standard rules there are no blockades: tokens can always pass each other.

Can I use the keyboard? Press Space to roll and 1 to 4 to move a token, or Tab to a glowing token and press Enter.