Players spin the wheel and move their playing pieces for the number of steps indicated by the wheel. If they land on the lower-numbered end of the squares with a "ladder", they can move their token up to the higher-numbered square. If they land on the higher-numbered square of a pair with a "snake", they must move their token down to the lower-numbered square.

The first player who successfully arrives at the last space in an exact number of steps is the winner. If you exceed the required number of steps, you must step forward into last space and then move backwards for the number of steps in excess.