LUDO is big part of Jamaica’s culture, a game played anywhere and everywhere from church to school, family gatherings and more; it unites us, divides us, and can make us happy or upset in equal measure.

For most of us, Ludo is played on age-old boards that we ‘born-come-see’ or in some cases, a family member just came home with a board one evening.

Everton Brown has made a career out of creating the boards that bring so much joy to Jamaicans. From his workspace in Kingston, he told Jamaica Observer’s How Dis Mek!

“First, I used to make blackboards, then I passed a man and saw the man making Ludo boards, and I said, ‘Yeah, I know I can do that’,” Brown shared.

Everton Brown stands beside a four-foot Ludo board he created. (Photo: Gavin Jones)

At first, Brown outsourced the painting of the boards — which is the most important part of the process — transforming blank pieces into a game square divided into four starting home bases in each corner and four final home bases in the centre.

After some time, the craftsman decided he would try his hand at painting himself, and has now been doing so for decades.

When the Observer arrived at his workspace in Kingston, almost every surface was covered in ludo boards in varying stages of completion.

“It’s just like [ABC] to me… I’m painting up like 15 boards; I have to do it fast, and I mostly go by orders,” he explained.

A partially completed Ludo board being worked on by Brown. (Photo: Gavin Jones)

While painting the traditional red, green, blue, white and yellow boxes, he uses a mix of oil and water paint; oil for the Ludo side and water for the draughts inverse of the traditionally two-sided game board.

After painting, Brown cleans up the lines with black permanent markers; then comes settling the board in a casing made of ply.

The craftsman carves out grooves in the casing so he can slide the thin painted board into it before using nails to join all four sides and wood filler to seal up any holes.

After a final once-over to fix any mistakes and coat the board, the game pieces are ready for sale. His boards sell for between $2,500 and $5,000 depending on the size.

Proudly showing off a four-foot board he made, which the community makes use of on a daily basis, Brown said he is particularly grateful for the financial freedom he gets from working with his hands.

“I feel joy doing it. I’m not lying to you, because doing Ludo boards and all that, it just makes me not beg people,” declared Brown.