Chinese Checkers
Hop across. Fill the point.
The hopping race on a six-pointed star: your pieces start in one point, and the first to swap all of them into the opposite point wins. Link your pieces into a ladder and one of them can cross the board in a single turn. Here is everything you need to know before you sit down.
- Free practice
- No sign-up
- Play in your browser
Join a Game Room
Chinese CheckersGot a room code?
- Players
- 2 to 6
- You need
- A star board, marbles
- Style
- Race
- Goal
- Fill the far point
What is Chinese Checkers?
One star. One crossing.
Chinese Checkers is played on a six-pointed star of 121 holes. Each player’s ten pieces start packed into one of the points, and the aim is to move all of them across the board into the point opposite.
A piece can step into a neighbouring hole, or hop over a neighbouring piece. Hops can chain, so a well-built ladder of pieces lets one piece leap across half the board in a turn. Nothing is ever captured, which makes the other player’s pieces useful stepping stones.
The practice table
Try itLearn it with the marbles in your hand.
Play against a bot with our Classic rules. Tap one of your pieces to see where it can go, tap a lit hole to move it, and the coach shows the move it would make and why.
- Easy, Normal, or Sharp bots. Sharp bots build ladders and bring up their stragglers.
- Quick game is six pieces each. Full game is ten.
- No account, no host, nothing saved.
- You0 of 6 in the far point
- Bot0 of 6 in the far point
You are gold at the bottom, heading to the top point. The bot is blue.
Your move. Tap one of your gold pieces.
Hopping over a piece gets this one 2 holes ahead for a single turn.
Quick rules
- Two players on a six-pointed star. Each side starts with its pieces packed into one point, and the aim is to move them all into the opposite point.
- On your turn move one piece: a single step to any empty neighbouring hole, or a hop over an adjacent piece into the empty hole just beyond.
- After a hop you may keep hopping with the same piece, in any direction. Pieces you hop over, yours or theirs, stay where they are.
- You win by getting every piece into the far point. If one player never leaves their own point the other cannot fill it, and the game is a draw at the turn limit.
- You move first. The Quick game uses six pieces each; the Full game uses ten.
Found a bug, or a rule that feels off?Tell us in our Discord →
A little history
From Germany, by way of Halma.
The game began in Germany in the 1890s as Stern-Halma, a star-shaped version of the American game Halma. It reached the United States in the 1920s, where it was sold as Chinese Checkers, a name that stuck even though the game has no connection to China or to checkers.
The star board lets up to six people play at once, but the two-player game, with opposite points, is the classic. These are our Classic rules.
Fun facts
- The board is a star of 121 holes: six points of ten holes around a center of 61.
- Each player has ten pieces, and the aim is to move all of them into the point opposite.
- Nothing is ever captured, so the other player’s pieces are useful stepping stones.
- A chain of hops can carry one piece across half the board in a single turn.
Why people love it
Simple moves. Long chains.
Two moves to learn.
Step, or hop. That is the whole rulebook, and a child can play it.
The ladder is the game.
Spacing your pieces one hole apart sets up chains that cross the board in a turn.
Nothing is captured.
Your opponent’s pieces are as useful to you as your own. Watch what you leave for them, too.
The last piece counts.
A race is only won when every piece is home, so a straggler can lose the game.
How to play
Step. Hop. Cross the star.
Setup
- Players: two: you and a bot. You are gold, at the bottom point.
- Pieces: ten each in the Full game, or six each in our Quick game.
- Goal: move every piece into the point opposite your own.
- First move: you move first.
Winning
Move every one of your pieces into the far point. The first player to do it wins.
- 1
Step
Move one piece into any empty neighbouring hole, in any of the six directions.
- 2
Hop
Jump over an adjacent piece, yours or theirs, into the empty hole just beyond it.
- 3
Chain the hops
After a hop you may hop again with the same piece, in any direction, all in one turn.
- 4
No captures
Pieces that are hopped over stay exactly where they are.
- 5
Fill the point
Every one of your pieces must be in the far point to win.
- 6
Don’t build them a ladder
A line of your pieces with single gaps is a highway for the other player’s hops too.
These are our Classic rules, and they'll be shown in every room before the game starts. Printable rules card →
Lessons
Learn it in a few minutes.
4 quick lessons, one idea each. Make the call, see why it works, and move on. Your progress is saved in this browser.
Step or hop
On your turn you move one piece. Which of these is a legal move?
Scoring
First to fill the point.
There are no points in Chinese Checkers. The first player to fill the far point wins, and a practice game that runs past the turn limit is called a draw.
| In a game of Chinese Checkers | Result | |
|---|---|---|
| Every piece of yours in the far point | Win | |
| A piece left behind | Not yet | |
| Turn limit reached | Draw |
Our Classic rules: every piece has to reach the far point. A player who never leaves their own point keeps the other from filling it, so a game that runs out of turns is a draw. Some tables let you win with one piece left in the opponent’s point, or make you leave your point within a set number of turns; those are house rules.
Strategy
Play it smart. Then play it feral.
Tip 1
Build ladders.
Spread your pieces up the middle with one empty hole between each, and one piece can cross in a turn.
Tip 2
Take the longest hop.
A chain of hops that gains four rows beats four plain steps. Look for the chain first.
Tip 3
Bring up your stragglers.
The game is won when the last piece arrives. Don’t leave one alone at the back.
Tip 4
Use their pieces.
Hop over the other player’s pieces whenever they help. Nothing is captured.
Tip 5
Stay near the middle line.
Pieces on the line between the two points have the most hops available.
What would you do?
One decision. Every day.
A new Chinese Checkers puzzle every day, the same for everyone. Solve it, then send it to the group chat and see who gets it right.
Want more? See today's puzzles for every game →
Your path to game night
Learn it here. Play it with friends.
Finish the lessons or win a practice game and you're ready to sit down at a real Chinese Checkers table with your people.
The Feral Worlds community
Play-testing Chinese Checkers? Tell us in Discord.
Found a bug, a rule that feels off, or a house rule your family swears by? Our Discord is where we collect play-test feedback, and where game nights are starting to happen.
Glossary
Talk like a regular.
- Point
- One of the six triangles of the star, where a side’s pieces start.
- Step
- A move of one hole into an empty neighbour.
- Hop
- A jump over an adjacent piece into the empty hole beyond it.
- Chain
- Several hops in a row by the same piece in one turn.
- Ladder
- A line of pieces with single gaps, ready for a chain of hops.
- Straggler
- The piece furthest behind, which can lose the race.
The Feral twist
Still under the hat.
Every game can be played Classic. In Feral mode, the host writes the house rules: how many players, whether you must leave your point, how a blocked point counts. We'll show you what Chinese Checkers can do when it's ready.
In the Board Games pack
Chinese Checkers is on the ballot.
Backers vote on which board games join the Board Games pack. Owning the pack means every one that joins is yours too.
$9.95, one time, to host every game in it. Playing is always free. Packs go on sale when the full game launches.
Chinese Checkers is on the ballot
Save me a seat.
Hear when the Kickstarter opens so you can vote Chinese Checkers into the Board Games pack, and when you can host it with friends.