Originating in India as part of a family of dice board games, Moksha Patam (the name it was known by in ancient India) made its way to Victorian England becoming Snakes and Ladders. The concept, when later introduced in the US, became Chutes and Ladders.The historic version roots in lessons of morality - where a player’s progression up the board represented a life journey complicated by virtues (ladders) and vices (snakes).