Family board game
Moksha Patam
Long before it was called Snakes and Ladders, children in India played Moksha Patam. Ladders are good deeds that lift you up; snakes are bad habits that pull you down. First to reach 100 wins.
Players
Who is playing?
Ladders and snakes
Ladders lift you up
Snakes pull you down
Roll a 6 and you roll again. You need the exact number to land on 100.
A game with a lesson
Moksha Patam, also called Gyan Chaupar, was played in India for centuries. Each ladder stood for a virtue and each snake for a vice, and reaching the last square meant moksha, freedom. The game travelled to Britain in the 1800s and became the Snakes and Ladders many families know today.