Ladder Lottery (Sadari): A Complete Guide for 2026

If you have ever been in a group of friends trying to decide who picks up the dinner tab, or a team of coworkers choosing who takes on an unwanted task, you have probably wished for a quick, fair, and fun way to decide. That is exactly what Sadari -- the Korean ladder lottery game -- was designed for. Known in Korean as 사다리타기 (literally "ladder riding"), this deceptively simple game has been a staple of Korean culture for generations, and its popularity is only growing as digital versions make it accessible to everyone around the world.

In this guide, we cover everything you need to know about the ladder lottery in 2026: its origins, how to play, why it is mathematically fair, and how to use it effectively for your own group decisions.

What Is Sadari (Ladder Lottery)?

Sadari is a method of random assignment that uses a visual ladder-like grid. Participants each claim a vertical line at the top of the ladder. Hidden horizontal "rungs" connect adjacent vertical lines at various points. When a player traces their path from top to bottom, following every rung they encounter, they end up at one of the outcomes placed at the bottom. Each starting position leads to exactly one unique ending position, creating a one-to-one mapping that guarantees every participant gets a different result.

The game is also known as Amidakuji (あみだくじ) in Japanese, where it has an equally long tradition. In English-speaking countries, it is most commonly called "ladder lottery" or "ghost leg lottery." Regardless of the name, the underlying principle is identical: random horizontal connections between vertical paths create a fair permutation of outcomes.

History and Cultural Origins

The ladder lottery has roots stretching back centuries in East Asia. In Japan, the earliest recorded version of Amidakuji dates to the Muromachi period (roughly the 14th to 16th century), where it was used in religious contexts to distribute temple duties among monks. The name "Amida" refers to Amida Buddha, and the radiating lines of the original game were said to resemble the halo behind a Buddha statue.

In Korea, 사다리타기 became deeply embedded in everyday culture. It appears constantly on Korean variety shows, where the dramatic tracing of paths creates genuine entertainment and suspense. School children play it on chalkboards. Office workers sketch it on sticky notes. The game transcended its origins as a simple decision tool and became a cultural touchstone -- a shared experience that virtually every Korean person recognizes and has played countless times.

What makes sadari enduringly popular is its combination of simplicity, fairness, and drama. There are no complicated rules to explain. There is no equipment needed beyond something to draw on. And yet there is a real moment of tension as each person watches their line wind its way through the rungs toward an unknown destination.

How the Game Works: Step by Step

Playing sadari is straightforward, whether you do it on paper or using a digital tool. Here is the process broken down step by step:

1. Draw vertical lines. Create one vertical line for each participant, spaced evenly apart side by side. Write each participant's name at the top of their line.
2. Write outcomes at the bottom. At the bottom of the vertical lines, write the possible outcomes. These might be "pays for dinner," "gets the window seat," "goes first," or whatever your group is deciding.
3. Add horizontal rungs. This is the key step. Between adjacent vertical lines, draw short horizontal lines (rungs) at random positions. These rungs should not overlap at the same height between the same pair of lines. The rungs are typically added by someone who is not a participant, or they are hidden until the tracing begins.
4. Trace each path. Starting from the top of your vertical line, move downward. Every time you encounter a horizontal rung, you must follow it sideways to the adjacent line, then continue moving downward on that new line. Repeat until you reach the bottom.
5. Read your result. Whichever outcome is at the bottom of your final line is your assignment. Each person will arrive at a different outcome.

The beauty of the game is that even with just a few rungs, the paths become surprisingly unpredictable. Adding more rungs increases the shuffle, making it even harder for anyone to guess where they will end up.

Why Sadari Is Mathematically Fair

One of the most remarkable properties of the ladder lottery is that it creates a valid permutation of the outcomes. In mathematical terms, this means:

• Every starting position maps to exactly one ending position (the function is well-defined).
• No two starting positions can lead to the same ending position (the function is injective).
• Every ending position is reached by exactly one starting position (the function is surjective).

This means the ladder lottery is a bijection -- a perfect one-to-one correspondence between inputs and outputs. No matter how the rungs are arranged, these three properties always hold. You can verify this yourself: try to construct a ladder where two people end up at the same result. It is impossible. Each horizontal rung simply swaps two adjacent paths, and a sequence of adjacent swaps always produces a valid permutation.

Research in combinatorics has shown that as the number of random rungs increases, the resulting permutation distribution converges toward the uniform distribution. In practical terms, this means a ladder with plenty of rungs is essentially as random as drawing names from a hat.

Common Uses for Sadari

The ladder lottery is incredibly versatile. Here are the most popular applications in 2026:

Deciding Who Pays

This is the classic use case. A group goes out to eat, and nobody wants to be the one to cover the bill. A quick sadari game settles it instantly, with zero arguments and maximum entertainment. The social element -- watching each path twist and turn -- makes the outcome feel legitimate in a way that a coin flip never quite does.

Assigning Tasks and Chores

Roommates dividing housework, coworkers splitting a tedious project, or family members deciding holiday responsibilities -- sadari handles it all. Because everyone can visually trace the result, there is no room for complaints about bias.

Team Building and Icebreakers

Facilitators and managers use ladder lottery as a team-building exercise. Pairing up team members randomly for activities, assigning discussion topics, or deciding presentation order all work well with sadari. The game itself becomes a brief bonding moment.

Party Games

Ladder lottery is a natural party game. Assign prizes, dares, or challenges to the bottom of the ladder and let guests trace their fate. The visual spectacle and suspense make it a crowd-pleaser, especially when outcomes range from winning a small prize to performing a silly dare.

Classroom Activities

Teachers use sadari to randomly assign reading partners, project groups, or quiz questions. Students find it far more engaging than the teacher simply reading names off a list, and the perceived fairness reduces complaints.

Digital vs. Paper Sadari

Traditionally, sadari was played on paper, chalkboards, or whiteboards. This hands-on approach has a charm of its own -- there is something satisfying about physically drawing the lines and tracing the paths with your finger. Paper sadari works perfectly for small groups in the same room.

However, digital sadari tools (like the one we are building here at Sadari.org) offer several advantages:

• Guaranteed randomness. Computer-generated rungs are truly random, eliminating any unconscious bias in rung placement.
• Remote play. Share a link with friends or colleagues anywhere in the world and play together.
• Animation. Digital tools can animate the path tracing, adding drama and visual appeal.
• History. Save past games as proof of results -- useful for settling disputes later.
• Speed. Setting up a digital ladder takes seconds, even for large groups.

That said, paper sadari has its own irreplaceable appeal for casual, in-person moments. The best choice depends on your context. For a quick office decision, digital wins on convenience. For a dinner party with friends, the charm of drawing it by hand might be part of the fun.

Tips for Making Your Sadari Game Fun

Whether you are playing digitally or on paper, here are some tips to get the most out of your ladder lottery experience:

1. Add enough rungs. Too few rungs and the paths barely move, making the game feel predictable. Aim for at least two to three rungs per gap between vertical lines. More rungs mean more shuffling and more suspense.
2. Keep outcomes hidden until reveal. Cover the bottom results until everyone has traced their paths. The big reveal is where all the fun lives.
3. Mix serious and silly outcomes. In party settings, combine real prizes with humorous penalties. The uncertainty of whether you are getting something great or something embarrassing is what makes the game exciting.
4. Let everyone trace simultaneously. Instead of going one by one, have everyone trace their path at the same time for a chaotic, exciting moment of discovery.
5. Use colors. Assign each player a different color. On a whiteboard or digital screen, the colorful paths crossing and weaving create a visually striking display.
6. Narrate the journey. If you are the host, describe the paths as they twist and turn. A little dramatic commentary goes a long way toward making the game memorable.

Conclusion

The ladder lottery is one of those rare inventions that is simultaneously ancient and modern, simple and mathematically rigorous, practical and entertaining. Whether you call it sadari, 사다리타기, Amidakuji, or ghost leg lottery, the game solves a universal human problem: how to make a fair random decision that everyone trusts and enjoys.

In 2026, as remote work and global teams continue to be the norm, digital sadari tools make this centuries-old game more accessible than ever. The next time your group faces a decision that needs to be random, fair, and fun, skip the coin flip and build a ladder instead.

Ready to try it? Head back to Sadari.org and create your first ladder lottery game -- it takes just seconds.

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