How to Play (Human vs. Computer)
Board: A six-pointed star with 121 holes. Each of the six points is a triangular camp of 10 holes; the center links all six points.
Pieces: You and the computer each have 10 pegs, starting in two opposite camps (all 10 holes filled). The four side camps stay empty.
Goal: Move all 10 of your pieces across the board and completely fill the camp opposite your starting camp.
Moving: On each turn, move exactly one piece. Two options, not combinable in one turn:
- Step: Move one piece to an adjacent empty hole along a line.
- Jump: Jump one piece over any single adjacent piece — your own or the computer’s — landing in the empty hole directly beyond it. The jumped piece stays on the board; nothing is captured. The same piece may continue jumping from its new position, changing direction as needed, until no further jumps are available.
Winning: First side to fill all 10 holes of the opposite camp wins.
Rules:
- One piece moved per turn (it may make multiple jumps).
- No capturing, no removal of pieces.
- You may jump over your own pieces as well as the computer’s.
Basic tips:
- Build “ladders” — chains of pieces that let one piece jump far in a single turn.
- Keep pieces clustered near the center line for more jump options (the computer can use the same ladders).
- Don’t leave stragglers; isolated pieces must be walked one step at a time.
- Plan the endgame: the last pieces must fill specific remaining holes in the destination camp.
History and Origins
Chinese Checkers was not invented in China and is not a form of checkers — the name was a marketing label.
The game descends from Halma, invented in the United States by George Howard Monks around 1883–1884, played on a square board with pieces racing from corner to opposite corner.
A star-shaped variant appeared soon after; in 1892 the German company Ravensburger patented it as Sternhalma (“Star Halma”) — the direct ancestor of the modern game.
The star-shaped game reached the U.S. in the 1930s and became a craze. Manufacturers rebranded it with an Oriental theme and the name “Chinese Checkers” purely for commercial appeal; Milton Bradley patented its version under that name in 1941. The name stuck despite the game’s American and German origins.
