Ladder Game Rules and History
Almost everyone has played the ladder game at least once. The rules are simple, but there is a long history and a neat bit of math behind them.
How to play
Draw one vertical line for each player, then add horizontal rungs between neighbouring lines at random. Write the players at the top of the lines and the results (winner, loser, tasks, prizes) at the bottom.
Each player starts at the top of their own line and moves down. Whenever they reach a rung, they must cross it to the neighbouring line and then keep going down. The box they reach at the bottom is their result.
Rules to follow
- A rung only connects two lines that sit side by side. Never skip a line.
- Do not attach rungs to both sides of a line at the same height, or the path would split.
- Always cross a rung when you meet it. Skipping one can make two players land on the same result.
- Hide the results until the ladder is finished, or write them only after the ladder is drawn.
Why results never collide
As long as the rules are followed, a ladder always links each player to a different result. A rung simply swaps the positions of the two players beside it, so no matter how many rungs you add, two players can never end up in the same box. That makes the ladder game perfect for handing out one winner and several blanks, or for assigning a list of tasks exactly once each.
Where it comes from: Amidakuji in Japan
In Japan the game is called Amidakuji. It is commonly said that early versions were drawn as lines radiating from a centre rather than as parallel lines, and that the shape resembled the halo of Amida Buddha, which gave the game its name.
Stories from around the Muromachi period describe people using it to share out costs or food among a group. Over time the easier parallel-line layout took over and became the ladder shape we know today.
Other names
In Chinese-speaking regions it is known as the ghost leg, and in Korea it is simply called sadari-tagi, which means climbing the ladder. It is used everywhere from classrooms and offices to TV variety shows to decide who gets what.
Paper ladders versus online ladders
A ladder on paper needs nothing but a pen and is fun to draw together, but people tend to draw too few rungs or bunch them in one area, which can make some results predictable. With many players it also takes time to draw and it is easy to lose track of a path.
An online ladder draws the rungs and follows the paths for you, so it is quick and mistake-free. This site goes one step further: it first shuffles the results evenly and then draws a ladder that produces exactly that outcome, so every result is equally likely no matter which line you choose. The fairness guide explains how.