Jackaroo online Cards decide the move
Jackaroo, also spelled Jakaroo or Jackaro, is the card and marble race played across the Arabian Gulf: a Ludo-style board where a hand of cards replaces the dice. In Ludo Vest you play it free at club tables, one on one or in pairs at tables of 4, 6 or 8.
How do you play Jackaroo in Ludo Vest?
Jackaroo in Ludo Vest is played at club tables seating 2, 4, 6 or 8. From four seats up you play in pairs with your partner sitting opposite. Each player races four marbles around a loop of 76 holes (114 at 6 seats and 152 at 8) and into a four-cell home lane by playing one of four cards dealt each round from a 54-card deck with two jokers (a bigger pack at 6 and 8). An Ace, a King or a Joker brings a marble out, a 7 can be split, a 4 moves backwards and a Jack swaps places with an opponent. The first player, or the first pair with all 8 marbles home, wins.
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Last updated
2 to 8
Seats: 2, 4, 6 or 8, in pairs from 4
54
Cards in a 4 seat pack, two of them jokers (81 at 6 seats, 108 at 8)
4
Cards dealt each round
4
Marbles per player
76
Holes around the loop (114 at 6, 152 at 8)
15s
To play each card
How a round works
Four cards, one marble at a time
Jackaroo plays like Ludo with a hand of cards instead of a die. You always know your options, so the game is in choosing which card to spend and when.
- 1
Deal
Every player is dealt four cards. When the hands are played out, four more each are dealt, and the whole deck is reshuffled when it runs low.
- 2
Play one card
On your turn, swipe one card up and apply it to a marble. If no card in your hand can be played, you discard one of your choice.
- 3
Come out of base
A marble leaves base only on an Ace, a King or a Joker, onto your own start cell.
- 4
Race home
Take each marble all the way round the loop and into your four-cell home lane. The home lane needs the exact count.
The cards
What every card does
Most cards simply move a marble forward. Seven of them do something more: they bring marbles out, split, swap, run backwards or move anyone, and they are where Jackaroo is won.
| Card | What it does |
|---|---|
| Ace | Bring a marble out of base, or move 1 or 11 |
| King | Bring a marble out of base, or move 13 |
| Queen | Move 12 |
| Jack | Swap one of your marbles on the loop with an opponent's marble on the loop |
| 10, 9, 8, 6, 3, 2 | Move that many cells forward |
| 7 | Move 7 with one marble, or split the 7 between two of your own marbles |
| 5 | Move any marble on the board 5 forward: yours, your partner's or an opponent's |
| 4 | Move 4 backwards around the loop |
| Joker | Bring a marble out of base, or move any number from 1 to 13 |
- A 5 can never push an opponent's marble into its home lane, and a marble in the home lane never moves backwards.
- A Jack cannot swap with your partner's marble, or with a marble sitting on its own start cell.
- The second half of a split 7 is checked on the board the first half leaves behind.
Captures and partners
Send them home, bring your partner
Land to capture
Land on another player's marble and it goes back to base. Your own marbles block you: you can neither land on one nor pass it.
The start cell wall
A marble sitting on its own start cell is a wall that nobody can pass or land on. Coming out onto your start cell captures an opponent standing there.
Partners from four seats
From four seats up the players sitting opposite each other are partners. Finish your own four marbles and you keep playing your cards to move your partner's.
How you win
With two players, the first to bring all four marbles home wins. With four, six or eight, the first pair to bring all eight marbles home wins together.
Where to play
Jackaroo at your club's table
Jackaroo is a club game in Ludo Vest. Join a club room, and a manager can seat you at a table with the people you are already talking to.
Hosted in a club
A club's Owner, a Super Admin or an Admin opens a Jackaroo table for 2, 4, 6 or 8 from the club room.
Seats by invitation
The host invites players who are in the club room, members or guests, and only invited players sit down. The table starts by itself when the last seat fills.
Free to play
Club tables have no entry fee. No Gold is staked, won or lost at the table.
A gallery to watch
Any member of the club can watch and chat with the seats. Spectators never see a player's hand, and the host can mute the gallery.
15 seconds a turn
Each turn has a 15-second clock. If it runs out, a move is played for you so the table keeps going.
A shuffle you can check
The order comes from a secret seed committed before the first deal and revealed when the table ends: the same scheme as the dice in every Ludo match.
Questions
Jackaroo questions
Is Jackaroo the same as Ludo?
They are close relatives. Both race four pieces around a track into a home lane, and both send a piece back to base when you land on it. Jackaroo replaces the dice with a hand of cards, so you choose your move from what you hold, and cards like the 7, the 4 and the Jack add moves Ludo does not have.
Can six or eight people play Jackaroo?
Yes, at a club table. Jackaroo at a club table seats 2, 4, 6 or 8. From 4 seats up you play in pairs with the partner sitting opposite you; once your marbles are home you play your partner's. The first pair with all 8 marbles home wins. The board has 114 holes at 6 seats and 152 at 8, and the pack grows to match.
How many players can play Jackaroo?
Two, four, six or eight in Ludo Vest, at club tables. From four seats up, the players sitting opposite each other are a team, and a player who finishes keeps playing to bring their partner home.
How do I play Jackaroo with friends?
Meet in a club room. A club manager (the Owner, a Super Admin or an Admin) hosts a Jackaroo table and invites the players who are in the room, members or guests. Any member of the club can watch.
Can I play Jackaroo offline or in a private room?
Not at the moment. Jackaroo is played at club tables only. Private rooms and offline pass-and-play are for Ludo.
Is the Jackaroo shuffle fair?
Yes, and you can check it. Before the first deal the server commits to a secret seed by publishing its SHA-256 hash, every shuffle comes from that seed, and the seed is revealed when the table ends.
More ways to play
Talk, team up, deal, draw
Ludo Vest is more than one board. Talk to your table, bring your friends, and switch to Jackaroo or Dominos in your club.
Voice chat Ludo
Talk to everyone at your table in any online match, then hang out in a live voice club between games.
How voice worksPlay Ludo online with friends
Host a private room for 2, 3, 4, 6 or 8 players and share the code, or pair up with a partner for Team Up 2v2.
Read the guideDominos online
Double six dominos for two, head to head on the tiles. One deal decides the game.
Dominos rules
Deal yourself in
Free on Google Play. Join a club, and when a manager hosts a Jackaroo table, take the seat they invite you to.
Android is live on Google Play. The App Store build follows. A store button turns into a link the day the listing is genuinely live, and not before.