Ludo

A game older than almost everything else in this shop, and still quietly vicious.

Ludo in a proper wooden set from Wooden Games Workshop: sixteen turned wooden counters and a die, packaged in a retro-style box that looks considerably better on a shelf than the cardboard versions. The game itself descends from the Indian game Pachisi and has been played, under one name or another, for centuries — which is a long time for a design whose central pleasure is sending someone back to the start.

The rules take under a minute to explain. Roll, move, and land on an opponent to send their counter all the way home. That is the whole thing, and it is why it survives: no reading, no setup, nothing to learn, and an almost limitless capacity to cause offence within a family. Ages eight and up, though considerably younger children manage it fine.

Perfect for: The holiday house, the caravan, or anywhere a game needs to be explainable to four people of wildly different ages in the time it takes to pour a drink.

1–4 players | Age 8+ | 16 wooden counters and a die