Chinese Checkers

Overview

Hop marbles across a six-pointed star to reach the opposite point first. Despite the name, it isn't a form of checkers: it's a race game descended from Halma.

No governing body publishes rules for this game. This page describes the most common form. House rules vary, so agree them before you start.

1. Setup

A star-shaped board of 121 holes.

Players	Marbles each	Points used
2	15 (or 10)	Opposite points
3	10	Alternating points
4	10	Two opposite pairs
6	10	All six

Fill your point of the star with your marbles.

2. Moving

On your turn, move one marble, in one of two ways:

Step — move to any adjacent empty hole, in any of the six directions.

Jump — hop over a single adjacent marble, of any colour, into the empty hole directly beyond it.

3. Chain jumps

A jump may be followed by another jump, and another, as far as the board allows — in any combination of directions.

This is the whole game. A well-built chain can carry a marble the full length of the board in a single turn, and constructing chains for yourself while denying them to opponents is the entire skill.

You may stop a chain at any point. You may not mix a step and a jump in the same turn.

Jumped marbles are never captured. Nothing is ever removed from the board.

4. Winning

First player to fill the opposite point of the star with all their marbles wins.

5. The spoiler rule

A player may refuse to move their last marble out of their home point, blocking an opponent from ever finishing.

Most rule sets forbid this: if your marble sits in the destination point of another player and you have no other move, you must vacate it. Agree the handling before starting, because otherwise a losing player can freeze the game indefinitely.

6. Strategy

Build ladders. Placing your own marbles to create jump chains for later turns is worth more than advancing one marble greedily.

Use your opponents' marbles. Any marble can be jumped, so a crowded centre is an opportunity, not an obstacle.

Do not leave stragglers. A single marble left behind takes many turns to bring home and is what usually loses the game.

Commonly argued

• Nothing is ever captured. Jumping is movement only.
• You may jump any colour, including your own.
• Chain jumps can go in any direction, including backward.
• You cannot combine a step and a jump in one turn.
• It isn't checkers. Nothing is captured, and the aim is to race across.