American Ludo

American what? If you're an American who's never heard of Ludo you're not alone; it's sold in the US under the brand Parcheesi (with several gameplay variations taking on other names).

This adaptation allows you to play against up to 3 computer opponents with your choice of four sets of tokens and Brahms's Lullaby playing in the background (you can turn it off).

The game pans out as follows: your objective is to move all of your pieces in a path around the board using die rolls, eventually taking the pieces up the home stretch of your color and depositing them in the middle of the board. The obstacle to doing this is that when opponents' pieces land on yours, your pieces get sent back to the start! Likewise when you land on their pieces, they're sent home and have to roll a 6 (the option is available to make 5 available as well) in order to start out on the long trek again.

As for this implementation, the interface isn't the most inspiring, but the game is certainly playable, and the constant recommendations about your next move, while irritating for an adult, may make this game more satisfying for a child.

Sam's Protip: Maybe it's for the best this game isn't multiplayer. I've always found it difficult to avoid hard feelings after a family game of Sorry!...