Lost Childhood, where did you go?. Review on Ludo

Ah kids these days. They wake up to check their smartphones, ping each other on social media and come home to their playstations/ xboxs. In between they shall be racking up the points on flappy birds, or whatsapping the latest viral video around.

So what is wrong with all that. Nothing, really. It’s just that they are missing out on the pleasures of the simple things in life. The days before everything became digital and LCD-ed.

Yes, as a kid, we used to play outdoors. Many of us would remember the pleasure of simple games like gilli-danda, hide-and-seek, kabaddi, statue etc. Not to mention these games would give us a lot of exercise and keep us trim and fit. And create great lasting memories of childhood while doing so.

But, during the monsoons, or some days when we were simply too tired or did not have enough friends to play outdoors, what did we do so. Simple, we had board games. Let me repeat. These are Board games, those kids these days might call them Bored Games.

Sure, there were plenty, some simple, others elaborate. If you could pester your parents you probably got something which was cool like Scotland Yard, Cluedo, Howzatt or Monopoly. But those were complicated enough for our young minds. No, the best board games were the simple ones, namely;

*1. Ludo

1. Snakes and Ladders*

I still fondly remember my dual sided cardboard Ludo/ Snakes and Ladders Board. On one side would be printed Ludo, on the other, Snakes and Ladders. Snakes and Ladders was great fun. The agony of getting bitten by a snake. The ecstasy of finding and climbing a ladder. But that is a topic to discuss further on another day.

Ladies and Gentleman, I bring forth, Ludo.

Do I need to explain the history of Ludo and how it is played. Nope. For there is Wikipedia for that. Instead, I am going to surmise my experiences with Ludo, and why it is tied with snakes and ladders as one of my favourite indoor games ever.

Firstly, the four colour houses in ludo. We all had our favourites as kids. I always wanted the Blue house. Coincidentally, my house in school(Group) was also blue, so I guess it had that spell upon me. There was another friend of mine, Sooraj, who also wanted blue. So whenever we played we would roll the dice to decide who would play with the blue pieces.

While fun with two, the real awesomeness of Ludo came through with four players. It was like a car chase you see in the movies. A mere roll of the dice would decide if you were being the hunter or the hunted. Capturing and sending back a friends pawn would be a great triumph, while getting sent pack would elicit groans from you, and laughs from your friends.

We always wanted to land on the protected squares and it was always a case of strategy when you rolled a 6 of the dice. Do I move my pawn out of the house, or do I use it on one of my outside pawns to gain an advantage. So simple, yet so addictive.

And the best part, you could play many, many games for hours on end and never get bored. Or if you did get bored, simply roll over the cardboard sheet and voila, a game of snakes and ladders was ready for you.

They say you always look back at the past with rose tinted glasses. But I think you do not, at least not for childhood. Yes, it is not as competitive as it is for children today, and I am grateful I was probably the last of the generation of kids who grew up with time to spare, sleepy afternoons and no-computers / video games to eat my time. And I am most grateful for the awesome twosome – Ludo & Snakes and Ladders.