How to Play Chinese Checkers
Chinese Checkers is a race across a star shaped board. Each player has a set of marbles in one point of the star, and the goal is to move them all into the point directly opposite.
Despite the name it comes from Germany, where it was called Sternhalma. The hopping is what makes it fun.
Play Chinese CheckersHow to play
- On your turn, move one marble one step to any touching empty hole.
- Or hop it over a single neighbouring marble, yours or anyone else's, landing in the empty hole directly beyond.
- A hop can be followed by another hop with the same marble, and a long chain can cross most of the board in one turn.
- You cannot mix a step and a hop in the same turn.
- The first player to fill the opposite point of the star with their marbles wins.
Strategy
Build ladders rather than running single marbles forward. A line of marbles spaced one gap apart lets later pieces hop the whole way across in one turn.
Use your opponent's marbles. Any marble is hoppable, so pieces coming the other way are a free staircase.
Do not leave stragglers. The last two marbles out of your home point decide the race, because by then the board has emptied and there is nothing left to hop over.
Frequently asked questions
Can you hop over your own marbles?
Yes. Any single marble with an empty hole behind it can be hopped, whoever it belongs to.
How many marbles does each player have?
Ten in the traditional game, arranged in a triangle in one point of the star.
Is Chinese Checkers from China?
No. It was invented in Germany as Sternhalma and renamed for marketing.