Edit 12/19/2017: added a new subsection on analyzing Chutes & Ladders as an Absorbing Markov Chain. This weekend I found myself in a particularly drawn-out game of Chutes and Ladders with my four-year-old. If you've not had the pleasure of playing it, Chutes and Ladders (also sometimes known as Snakes and Ladders) is a classic kids board game wherein players roll a six-sided die to advance forward