How to Play Ludo Online with Friends

Playing Ludo with friends used to mean finding the board, counting the tokens and getting everyone into the same room. Online, you can set up a game in under a minute, wherever your friends happen to be. This guide walks through every step on Thunder Ludo, from creating a private room to fixing a dropped connection.

What you need

• A phone, tablet or computer with an up-to-date web browser.
• An internet connection. A steady mobile or Wi-Fi connection is plenty.
• One to three friends, or none at all if you would rather play strangers or a bot.

There is nothing to download or install. If you play often, you can add Thunder Ludo to your home screen from your browser’s menu (“Add to Home Screen” on most phones) for one-tap access.

Step 1: Sign in or play as a guest

Open thunderludo.com. The home screen offers two tabs:

• Profile signs you in with your phone number or your Google account. No password is needed. A profile keeps your wins, level, XP and coins, lets you join a clan, and puts you on the leaderboard.
• Guest lets you play straight away with just a display name. Nothing is saved, so your results won’t count towards stats or rankings.

Step 2: Create a private room

Tap Create Room. Thunder Ludo creates a private room with space for up to four players and takes you into its waiting area. Every room has a 6-character room code made of letters and numbers. That code is how your friends will find you, and the player who creates the room is its host.

Step 3: Invite your friends

From the waiting area, use the share button to send an invitation. You can copy it, send it straight to WhatsApp, or use your phone’s share menu to send it through any other app. The message includes the room code and a direct link to the room.

Your friends can either open the link, or go to the Thunder Ludo home screen, tap Join a Room and type in the code. A room can’t be joined once its game has started or when all four seats are taken, so make sure everyone is in before you begin.

Step 4: Get ready and start

Each player marks themselves as Ready in the waiting area. The host can start the game as soon as at least two players are ready. Anyone who hasn’t marked themselves ready when the host presses start is removed from the room, so give everyone a moment before you begin.

Other ways to play

Quick Match

Want a game right now, with or without friends? Choose Quick Match, pick a 2, 3 or 4-player table, and Thunder Ludo matches you with other players who chose the same table size. If not enough players are found within 20 seconds, the remaining seats are filled with computer-controlled players and the game starts, so you are never left waiting.

Play vs Bot

Play vs Bot starts a one-on-one game against a computer opponent immediately. It is the best way to learn the rules, try out the ideas in our strategy guide, or simply play when no one else is around.

Watch a live game

The Live Games page lists matches in progress. Open one to watch every roll and capture in real time without taking part, or look up a specific game by its room code to cheer on a friend.

During the game

• Rolling and moving. When it is your turn, tap the die to roll, then tap one of your highlighted tokens to move it. If only one token can move, the game moves it for you.
• Timers. You have 30 seconds to roll and 15 seconds to choose a move. When time runs out the game acts for you, but letting that happen more than five times in a match counts as a loss, as does spending two minutes in total inactive on your turns.
• Chat and reactions. Open the chat to send a quick phrase such as “Good luck!” or “GG”, or type a short message of your own. Emoji reactions let you celebrate a capture without typing anything.
• Settings. The in-game menu lets you turn game sounds on or off and set the volume, report a player, or leave the game.

If you are not sure about a rule mid-game, such as why you got a bonus roll or why a token wasn’t captured, our complete rules guide has the answer.

If something goes wrong

The home screen says “Connecting…”

Thunder Ludo needs a live connection to its game server before you can create or join a room. Check that you are online, then reload the page. On mobile data, moving somewhere with a better signal or switching to Wi-Fi usually helps.

My friend’s room code doesn’t work

Check the code character by character. If it is correct, the game may already have started, the room may be full, or it may have closed after waiting too long. Ask the host to create a new room and share the new code.

I got disconnected in the middle of a game

Your seat is held for two minutes. Reconnect within that time to carry on where you left off. The game doesn’t pause while you are away, and the turn timer can play for you, so come back as quickly as you can.

The game is slow or out of sync

Close other tabs and apps that use a lot of data, and keep Thunder Ludo in the foreground. Phones often pause the connection of apps and tabs running in the background.

Playing nicely

Online games are only fun when everyone plays fair. Take your turns promptly, keep chat friendly, and play every game to the end; quitting halfway spoils it for everyone else. If another player is abusive or you suspect cheating, use Report player in the in-game menu during the match, or contact us with their username and the room code. Our Terms of Service explain what isn’t allowed.

Questions we haven’t covered? The FAQ answers the most common ones.