Leela: frequently asked questions

Leela (also spelled Lila) is an Indian board game of self-knowledge with 72 squares in eight rows, each naming a state of being. Ten arrows are virtues that lift you and ten snakes are vices that bring you down. The modern version was published by Harish Johari in 1975. It is the ancestor of Snakes and Ladders.

All refer to the same game. Leela and Lila are spellings of the Sanskrit līlā, "divine play"; Lila is usual in Russian (Лила). Lilah and Layla are common misspellings in searches. Older Indian names for the game are gyan chaupar, "game of knowledge", and moksha patam, "ladder of liberation".

Write one open question or intention. Your token waits unborn on square 68 until you throw a six. The six brings you in through 1 Genesis to 6 Delusion, and you throw again at once, moving on from 6.

Every six gives another throw, and the numbers are added and moved as one total. Three sixes followed by another number are cancelled: you return to where you were and move only the last number. Four or more sixes are kept and added to the final throw.

Each arrow starts on a virtue and lifts you to the state it opens, such as 27 Selfless service rising to 41 Human plane. Each snake starts on a vice and drops you to what it produces, such as 55 Egotism falling to 3 Anger. Snakes are lessons, not punishments.

You finish when you land exactly on 68, Cosmic Consciousness, by count or by the arrow of Spiritual devotion from 54. There is no winner over other players. Each person plays his own journey, and the reward is what becomes clear about the question.

You continue into the top row, 69 to 72. Square 72, Tamoguna or inertia, is a snake back to 51 Earth. On Leela Atlas a throw that would go past 72 takes you up to 72, down to 51, and the rest of the throw is played from 51.

It depends on the die and on how much you reflect. One player needs about 50 throws on average to reach 68, though some games are far shorter and some far longer. Group and guided sessions are longer, sometimes several hours. You can stop and continue a journey later.

No. Leela does not predict events. Each square offers a word and a question that help you look at your situation from another angle. It is a game of reflection with Indian roots, and what you take from it depends on your honesty and on what you do next.

Yes, if you wish. At each square you can draw a card from the Classic Tarot, the Tarot de Marseille, the Visconti-Sforza Tarot, the Elder Futhark runes, the I Ching or the 72-card Leela deck. A bridging question links the card to the square and your question.

Yes. Leela Atlas has live online tables where friends play together on a video call, each with a personal question and token. Throws and cards are shown to the whole table. You can also book a session with a guide who facilitates the game.

Yes. The 3D die is thrown on our server, so no one, including you, chooses the number. If you prefer, you can throw your own physical die and tap the number you got. You may undo your last throw once if you made a mistake.

There is a Free plan that lets you play online. For people who play more often there is a pay-per-game option and an Unlimited plan. Whichever you choose, every journey you play is saved in your Atlas and synced across your devices.

Leela Atlas is available in English and Russian, with the squares, rules and questions written natively in each language. Russian speakers know the game as Лила, and the Russian pages use the names and phrasing familiar to players there. You can open the Russian version at /play?lang=ru.

No. You sign in with a code sent to your e-mail or with a passkey on your device. There are no passwords to remember or lose, and your Atlas of saved journeys is waiting for you on every device where you sign in.