Snakes and Ladders Isn’t a Game, Board or Otherwise

Snakes and ladders (or chutes and ladders) isn’t actually a game. That’s my personal opinion of course, but I think that there’s something to it. In fact, there’s a number of games that when you look at them aren’t really games. Let’s talk about why.

What exactly is a game?

I’m not going to waste your time with a dictionary definition. Instead, I’ll use my own. A game is an activity that involves skill and/or luck, combined with choice to create fun. Rock, paper, scissors is a game. You make a choice, there’s a little skill and a LOT of luck and you have some fun. Go Fish is a game. You make choices, there’s a little skill and a LOT of luck and you have some fun.

Snakes and ladders is not a game because there is no choice. You roll the dice or spin the spinner (or maybe even flip a card) and you move to the spot indicated. There is NO point in a game of snakes and ladders where you have to make a choice. There is no point where there is any skill is involved. Aside from the randomized result of the dice, you don’t actually have to be there to play. You could watch the results of a computer rolling for you and moving your game token and absolutely nothing would change. You are a casual observer to things that happen.

However, you can quite easily turn snakes and ladders into an actual game with the absolute slightest of adjustments.

Two dice.

In the original game of snakes and ladders, you roll one dice and move the distance indicated. However, since there are shortcuts and pitfalls in the game, what if you could choose to roll one dice or two dice? Why would you ever want to roll only one dice?

Imagine for a moment that you are on space number 1 of the snakes and ladders board. Spaces 2,4, and 6 contain ladders which will take you to space 22,36, and 9 respectively. Statistically speaking, the average result of rolling is 3.5, this means that if you rolled two dice you would be expected to get, on average, a 7. So, if you roll two dice, you could expect to end up on space number 8. You could, of course, land on space 13 if you rolled a 12, but the law of averages says you will land on 8 if you roll both dice. However, if you roll just one die, there is a 50% chance you’ll roll a 1, 3, or 5 in which case you will move ahead to 22, 36, or 9. Now, you could also roll a 2 and be sitting on 3. However, THIS is where choice comes into play. You choose how many dice to roll, depending on the situation you’re facing.

Suddenly, by adding one small cube, you’ve turned snakes and ladders into a game. But could you go further?