# Ladder Climb: a ladders and slides board game for the classroom

> A ladders and slides board game for the classroom: answer right, roll the die, climb ladders, dodge slides, reach 30. Free, one screen, no student devices.

Source: https://olyclass.com/classroom-games/ladder-climb/ · Updated 2026-10-29

Ladder Climb is a ladders and slides board game for the classroom, in the spirit of the snakes and ladders game many children already know. Teams answer questions, and every right answer rolls a big die on the screen: land on a ladder and you climb, land on a slide and you slip back down. The first team to reach square 30 wins. It works with any subject and is a favourite with primary classes.

![The Ladder Climb board: 30 numbered squares, three yellow ladders and three pink slides, three jelly team pieces waiting on square 1, a trophy on square 30, and a big die with a Roll button on the right](https://olyclass.com/classroom-games/ladder.webp "The start of a game: all three teams on square 1. A right answer lights up the Roll button.")

## At a glance

| Players | 2–4 teams free (up to 8 with Oly Pro), the whole class |
| Time | 15–25 minutes for 20 to 30 questions |
| Works with | Every English question format and every subject |
| Best for | Primary classes, end-of-unit review, a board game feel on a projector or touch screen |
| You need | One screen (projector, TV or interactive display), your phone, and speakers for the dice |

## How to play Ladder Climb

1. **Make or pick a question set.** Snap a textbook page, paste a word list, type a topic, paste your own questions, or open a set from the [free library](https://olyclass.com/library/).
2. **Pick Ladder Climb, set the teams and start.** Every team's piece starts on square 1. Teams take turns answering.
3. **Play.** A right answer lets the team roll the die (1 to 6) and move that many squares. A wrong answer means no roll. The first team to reach square 30 wins straight away; you don't need the exact number to land on it. If the questions run out first, the team furthest up the board wins.

## Rules and scoring

The board has 30 squares, numbered in a zigzag from the bottom left. Each ladder and slide runs straight up or down its own column, so the board is easy to read from the back of the room:

- **Ladders:** square 3 climbs to 15, square 8 to 20, and square 13 to 25.
- **Slides:** square 19 slides to 7, square 23 to 11, and square 28 to 16.
- **Score:** the score follows the piece. Moving up adds points; a slide takes them away. The team at the top of the board always leads the scores.

What you can switch on the start screen or during the game:

- **Double or triple questions:** mark a question in the editor and a right answer moves the piece double or triple the roll.
- **Wrong answers lose a point:** off by default. When it's on, a wrong answer moves the piece back one square.
- **Steal** (off by default): when you turn it on, after a miss another team can answer the same question and roll.
- **Also:** a timer per question (running out counts as wrong) and hiding the score for the whole game.

![A Ladder Climb question: a cartoon giraffe with "What is it?" and four answers, panda, gorilla, giraffe and kangaroo, with "Team 1, your turn!" above and "First to 30 wins" at the bottom left](https://olyclass.com/classroom-games/ladder-ask.webp "The question covers the board while the team thinks. A right answer earns the roll.")

## What you can teach with it

For English, Ladder Climb takes every question type Oly makes: picture, find the picture, listen and choose, the missing letter, the English word for a meaning, sentence order, and your own questions. Some ideas:

- **Numbers and colors at Pre-A1:** picture and listening questions; the class counts the squares out loud as the piece moves.
- **Daily routines at A1:** sentence order questions such as "up / I / at seven / get".
- **Comparatives at A2:** your own questions, "big → ?" with three wrong answers.

For other subjects, it plays multiple choice, true/false and open questions:

- **Math:** times tables, number bonds, or "what comes next" patterns.
- **Science:** true/false facts about the human body or the water cycle.

## Tips from the classroom

- **Use more questions.** With 12 questions and 4 teams, each team rolls only three times; set 20 to 30 questions so someone can reach the top.
- **Count together.** Have the class count the squares aloud as the piece moves. For young learners it's free number practice.
- **Call one student per team.** Type your class list on the start screen and Oly calls a different student each turn.
- **A team stuck at the bottom?** Turn on steal: a right answer on another team's miss gives them a roll.
- **Let students roll.** On an interactive display, the student who answered taps Roll.

## Play it without a screen

- Draw a 30-square grid on the board and add three ladders and three slides, each one inside a single column.
- Give each team a magnet or a colored mark on square 1.
- Ask a question; a team that answers right rolls a big foam die or a die under a visualiser, and moves.
- First team to 30 wins.

The screen version rolls and moves for you, follows the score, and lets you run the whole game from your phone.

## Questions teachers ask

### Is Ladder Climb free?

Yes. You can play it free with up to 4 teams, with library sets and your own typed questions. The free plan also makes 10 AI question sets a month; Oly Pro allows up to 8 teams and more AI sets.

### Do students need devices?

No. The board is on one shared screen. Only you use a phone, as the remote, and the keyboard works too (C for correct, X for not yet).

### Does a team need the exact number to finish?

No. Any roll that reaches or passes square 30 wins, and the game ends there.

### Can a team lose points?

Yes, when its piece lands on a slide, because the score follows the square. If you switch on "wrong answers lose a point", a wrong answer also moves the piece back one square.

### What happens if nobody reaches 30?

When the questions run out, the team furthest up the board wins. Set more questions if you want a race to the top.

### How many students can play?

Any number. The class splits into 2 to 4 teams on the free plan, up to 8 with Oly Pro.

For more racing, try [Paper Race](https://olyclass.com/classroom-games/paper-race/) or test your luck with [Lucky Wheel](https://olyclass.com/classroom-games/lucky-wheel/).