COURTYARDL U D O
THE ROYAL COURTYARD A place to play together
Every great evening starts with “one more game.”Royal Courtyard
A QUICK REFRESHER

The house rules.

Two to four players. Four tokens each. Get all four home first to win.

  1. Take your place. A random player starts; turns go clockwise: red, green, yellow, blue. Online, your colour is at bottom left on your screen. The same colours and player order are shared by everyone. Pass-n-play keeps a fixed board.
  2. Tap the die to roll. A 1 or a 6 lets you place one token on your coloured starting square, or you can move a token already on the track by the full roll. Use one fair six-sided die. You cannot split a roll, and you must make a legal move when one is available. When exactly one token can legally use the roll, it moves automatically. If several tokens can move, you choose. You can also focus the die and press Enter or Space.
  3. Good things earn another roll. A 6, a capture, or getting a token home earns one extra roll. Combining rewards still gives just one. A 6 with no legal move also earns another roll.
  4. Three sixes end your turn. On the third consecutive 6, discard that roll and pass the die. Moves from the first two sixes stay. A non-six breaks the sequence.
  5. Make a little mischief. Land on opponents on an ordinary square to send all their tokens on that square back to their yards. Tokens can share squares, and never block movement.
  6. Eight safe squares. The four coloured starting squares and the four star squares are safe. Opponents can share them without being captured.
  7. Capture to unlock home. A closed lock and grey home lane mean you must capture at least once before any of your tokens can enter. After your first capture, the lock opens and your home lane takes your colour. This unlock is permanent for all four tokens, even if the capturing token is sent back.
  8. Another lap is always possible. Before home is unlocked, skip its entrance and keep going for as many laps as needed. After a capture, each token enters its own lane on its next approach to the entrance; it cannot jump back.
  9. A perfect finish. Only your colour can use your home lane, where tokens cannot be captured. Roll the exact number to get home; overshooting is illegal. If no move is legal, skip the roll. The first player with all four tokens home wins.
  10. Keep the game moving. Each roll and its move share 30 seconds. If time runs out before you roll, the game rolls and chooses a legal move for you. If you have already rolled, it chooses a legal move using that die. A new turn or an extra roll gets a fresh 30 seconds. Timeouts accumulate throughout the match. On your fifth timeout, your tokens are removed before a roll or move, and the others continue without your seat. “Next” shows the next player after the current turn and any extra rolls.
  11. Leaving is your choice. Choose Quit game and confirm to remove your tokens permanently from that match. The others continue in order, skipping your seat. You cannot rejoin as an active player. The last player remaining wins. Home saves your seat without quitting, and timers keep running. Losing your connection does not immediately make you leave; accumulated timeouts can still eliminate you.
Stars mark safe squares, not the ends of home lanes.
YOUR NEXT GAME, ONE TAP AWAY

Make yourself at home.

Add Courtyard Ludo to your home screen for its own app window. Friends can join from the app or their browser.

01
iPhone or iPad

Open this site in Safari, tap Share, then Add to Home Screen. If shown, turn on Open as Web App and tap Add.

02
Android

In Chrome, open the ⋮ menu and choose Install app or Add to Home screen.

03
Desktop

In Chrome or Edge, use the install icon in the address bar or the browser’s install menu. On Safari for Mac, choose File → Add to Dock.

Online rooms need an internet connection.

Open the game online once to prepare offline play.
AT THE TABLE

Moves & details
QUIT THIS GAME

Quit this game?

All your tokens will be removed, and you cannot rejoin this match. The remaining players continue. Online and computer players return to Home. On a shared device, the other players keep playing.