Smart Board Games: Chutes & Ladders

Are you looking for smart board games?

Snakes and Ladder or Chutes and Ladders is a perfect first board game. It is a classic counting game and can be played between 2 or more children from ages 3 and up. If you want to enhance your kid's counting skills, we highly recommend this game!



History of the game

Chutes and Ladders was played widely in Ancient India. The game was based on Hinduism principles and on a moral law called "the ladder to salvation". The ladders represented virtues such as faith, generosity, humility, etc, and the snakes represented vices such as murder, anger, lust, etc.

The moral of the game was that to attain salvation a person needed to perform good deeds. The number of ladders was less than the number of snakes as a reminder that treading the path of good is difficult. The game made its way to Victorian England late in the 19th century and developed into a game to teach good morals to young children. One of the smart board games, it eventually reached America in the 1940s. To order the game online click here


How the game is played

• The goal of the game is to be the first player to reach the end. The player moves across a board from square 1 to square 100 and travels the board from base to top, right, left and so on
• Players start with a token in the starting square. They roll a die, then move a token the designated number of spaces, between one and six.
• Once they land on a space, they have to perform any action designated by the space.
• If the space a player lands on is at the bottom of a ladder, he can climb the ladder and move the token up to higher numbered square.
• If the space a player lands on is at the top of a snake/chute, the player must move its token down to the lower-numbered square and lands on a space closer to the beginning.
• A player who rolls a 6 with his die may take another turn. If a player rools three 6s, they return to the beginning of the game and may not move until they roll another 6.
• The winner is the player who gets to the last space on the board first, whether by landing on it from a roll or by reaching it with a ladder.

Benefits of the game

Chutes and ladders is an excellent teaching tool for parents looking for smart board games. First of all, by playing this game, kids practice counting. In no time, your child will become very good at counting! The game also helps young kids understand cause and effect.

Finally, the game can teach your child moral lessons. Children engaging in positive behaviors rise ladders and learn the benefits of making good decisions and behaving well. Children that engage in negative behaviors slide down chutes and reach the bottom of the board.

Another benefit of the game is that it can keep young children amused and it is a great way to spend quality family time for instance on a rainy Sunday afternoon.

If you have an experience to share or smart board games to recommend, don't hesitate to submit your comments here.

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