📜 How to Play Snakes & Ladders (Rules)

  • 1 to 100 Serpentine Grid: The 10×10 grid snakes back and forth from bottom-left (Square 1) up to top-left (Square 100).
  • Climbing Ladders (Virtue / पुण्य): Landing on the bottom square of a ladder instantly ascends your token to the top square!
  • Sliding Down Snakes (Vice / पाप): Landing on the head of a snake sends your token sliding down to the tip of its tail.
  • Exact Finish: To win, you must land exactly on Square 100. If your dice roll overshoots 100, your token bounces backward!

🏛️ History of Gyan Chausar (Game of Wisdom)

Snakes and Ladders originated in ancient India as Gyan Chausar (ज्ञान चौसर / Moksha Patam), designed by saint-philosophers in the 13th century (traditionally attributed to Saint Gyandev) as a spiritual tool to teach children about karma and liberation.

Ladders represented spiritual virtues such as Faith (Vishwas), Generosity (Daan), and Knowledge (Gyan), while snakes represented worldly vices such as Greed (Lobha), Anger (Krodha), Pride (Ahamkara), and Illusion (Maya). The final 100th square represented Moksha (spiritual liberation).