Chinese checkers
Jump your marbles across the star — chains of hops win the race.
- RedYou · 0 of 10 in place
- BlueComputer · 0 of 10 in place
Move one marble a turn: a step to a neighbouring empty hole, or a chain of jumps, each over a single marble of any colour into the empty hole straight behind it. The chain may stop after any jump and never visits a hole twice. A marble may pass through other points but may end its move only in the middle, in its own home point or in its target, the point opposite; once in its target it stays there. The first to fill the target point wins. Anti-spoiling: target holes held by marbles of that point’s owner that never left count for you, so fill all the others and you win. A colour walled in for good by marbles that have finished is out of play.
Keyboard: Tab to a marble that can move and press Enter, then Tab to a marked hole (its path is shown) and press Enter. Escape puts the marble down again.
Nothing leaves your device
This tool runs entirely in your browser. What you type, play or record here stays on your device: nothing is uploaded or saved on a server.
How it works
- Choose two, three, four or six players and how many are people on this screen.
- Move a marble one step, or jump over marbles — chains of jumps take you far in one move.
- Be the first to bring all ten marbles into the point opposite your start.
Frequently asked questions
- What are the rules of chinese checkers?
- Each player has ten marbles in one point of a six-pointed star. On your turn, step into a neighbouring empty hole or jump over a single marble into the empty hole behind it, as many jumps in a row as you can. The first to fill the opposite point wins.
- Is it really from China?
- No — the star version was invented in Germany in the 1890s as “Stern-Halma”, a variant of the older game halma, and got its English name in America.
- What is the anti-spoiling rule?
- If an opponent leaves marbles in their home point — which is your target — you don’t lose because of it: fill every other target hole and you win.
- Any tips?
- Build ladders — lines of marbles with gaps — so your pieces can chain long jumps, and don’t leave one marble behind at the end.
- Is anything sent anywhere?
- No. The game runs in your browser.