Ludo is a simple board game

Board game

A board game is a game which involves counters or pieces being moved on a pre-marked surface or "board", according to a set of rules. Games may be based on pure strategy, chance or a mixture of the two, and usually have a goal which a player aims to achieve...

 for two to four players, in which the players race

Race game

Race game is a large category of board games, in which the object is to be the first to move all one's pieces to the end of a track. This is both the earliest type of board game known, with implements and representations dating back to at least the 3rd millennium BC in Egypt, Iraq, and Iran; and...

 their four tokens from start to finish according to dice

Dice

A die is a small throwable object with multiple resting positions, used for generating random numbers...

 rolls. Like other cross and circle game

Cross and Circle game

Cross and Circle is a board game design used for race games played throughout the world.-Design:Strictly, the design comprises a circle divided into four equal portions by a cross inscribed inside it; the classic example of this design is Yut...

s, it is similar to the India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

n Pachisi

Pachisi

Pachisi is a cross and circle board game that originated in ancient India which has been described as the "national game of India". It is played on a board shaped like a symmetrical cross...

, but simpler. The game and its variants are popular in many countries under various names.
Pachisi

Pachisi

Pachisi is a cross and circle board game that originated in ancient India which has been described as the "national game of India". It is played on a board shaped like a symmetrical cross...

 originated/started in India by the 6th century. The earliest evidence of this game in India is the depiction of boards on the caves of Ajanta.

This game was played by the Mughal emperors

Mughal Empire

The Mughal Empire ,‎ or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...

 of India; a notable example being that of Jalaluddin Muhammad Akbar, who played living Pachisi

Pachisi

Pachisi is a cross and circle board game that originated in ancient India which has been described as the "national game of India". It is played on a board shaped like a symmetrical cross...

 using girls from his harem

Harem

Harem refers to the sphere of women in what is usually a polygynous household and their enclosed quarters which are forbidden to men...

.

Variations of the game made it to England during the British Raj

British Raj

British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...

, with one appearing under the name Ludo around 1896, which was then patented.

In Germany this game is called "Mensch ärgere dich nicht

Mensch ärgere dich nicht

Mensch ärgere dich nicht is a German board game , by Josef Friedrich Schmidt .The game was issued in 1914 and sold about 70 million copies...

" which in English means "Man, don't get irritated", and has equivalent names in Dutch, Croatian, Czech and Slovak.