Games are never only for fun, and snakes and ladders were opportunities to teach a child (or a grown-up) lessons of morality, values, and religious ideas. The boards also came in various forms and figures, but the basic premise was consistent-- climb up a ladder on good deeds (or a lucky throw of dice), and slither down when a snake bites. As art historian BN Goswamy points out, a Jain snakes and ladders will not be the same as a Vaishnava board.

In this 19th century version from the National Museum, we see two male figures on the top, both kings, one with a whip in his hand. There is a lot of text, in devanagri, which (probably) means this was for players who could read and write, or required supervision.