The classic family race for two to four players: roll a six to leave your base, then run your tokens once around the board. Land on a rival's square and that token goes back to base… but don't get angry! The first player to bring all four tokens home wins.
Goal: Be the first to bring all four of your tokens once around the board and into the home row of your colour.
Each player has a colour and four tokens, which start in the base: the four circles in your corner. Two, three or four can play; with two players you sit in opposite corners.
The track is a ring of 40 squares travelled clockwise. Each colour has a start square and, just before it, the entrance to its home row: four coloured squares leading to the centre of the board.
The first player begins and play passes clockwise.
On your turn, roll the die and move a single token clockwise by exactly the number shown; the roll cannot be split between tokens. Count every square, occupied ones too, and on the track you may jump over any token, yours or an opponent's.
If no token can move that number, the turn passes to the next player.
A token leaves the base only with a six and is placed on your own start square. After moving with a six you roll again, and so on: there is no limit to consecutive sixes. A six that cannot be played, however, gives no extra roll.
If you have no token on the track, and none in the home row that can still move forward, you get up to three tries to roll a six: as soon as one comes up the series ends and you play it; if none does, the turn passes.
If the last step of your move ends on a square occupied by an opponent's token, you capture it: that token goes back to its base and must wait for a new six.
You may never stop on a token of your own. There are no safe squares on the track, not even the start square: a token standing on its own start square can be captured, and a token leaving the base captures any opponent sitting on that square.
When you have a choice, these rules apply in this order. First, clear the start square: if you still have tokens in the base and one of your tokens is on the start square, you must move that one, whatever the roll, if it can move.
Next, with a six and tokens in the base, if the start square is not occupied by one of your own tokens you must bring one out.
Next, if the option “Capture is compulsory” is on, you must capture when you can; if there are several captures you choose. In every other case the choice is free.
After a full lap a token turns into the home row of its colour: four squares in a line towards the centre, where it can no longer be captured.
The roll must be exact: you cannot go beyond the last square. You may stop on any free square of the row and move on with later rolls, but you cannot jump over your own tokens (unless the matching option is on), so the first tokens in go to the far end and the others queue behind them.
The first player to have all four tokens on the four squares of the home row wins, and the game ends at once.
The others are ranked by the number of tokens in their home row, then by the distance travelled; equal scores share a place.
Capture is compulsory (on by default): if the die lets you capture a token, you must. When it is off, capturing is always optional.
Jumping in the home row (off): lets you jump over your own tokens inside the home row, as in the original instruction leaflet.
One token starts on the start square (off): at the beginning each player has one token on the start square and three in the base, as in the original rules.
Bringing one token safely home before risking the others is almost always a good plan. Stopping 1 to 6 squares in front of an opponent's token is dangerous, while sitting just behind their tokens gives you chances to capture them.