How to play Chinese Checkers

The board

• The board is a six-pointed star of 121 holes: a central hexagon with a triangle of ten holes on each side.
• Each player owns one triangle and starts with ten pieces of their colour filling it.
• Your goal is the triangle directly across the board from where you start.

Taking a turn

• Players take turns in order. On your turn you move exactly one of your pieces.
• A turn is either a single step or a series of jumps, never both.
• Pieces are never captured. Every piece stays on the board for the whole game.
• You may move through any triangle, including other players’ starting areas.

Stepping

Move one piece into any of the six neighbouring holes, as long as it is empty. That ends your turn.

Jumping

• Jump over a single piece in a straight line and land in the empty hole on the other side. You can jump over any colour, including your own.
• This version uses long jumps: the piece you jump does not have to be next to you. If there are empty holes between you and it, you land the same number of empty holes beyond it, and every hole along the way must be empty.
• After landing you may jump again from the new hole, and keep going as long as there is a legal jump. This is a chain jump, and it is the fastest way across the board.
• You can stop a chain whenever you like.

Winning

• The first player to fill the opposite triangle with all ten of their pieces wins.
• In games with more than two players, the others can keep playing to decide second place and below.
• Online games use a timer, so plan your moves while keeping an eye on the clock.

Strategy tips

• Build ladders: line your pieces up with gaps so they can jump each other across the board.
• Do not leave pieces stranded at the back. One late piece can cost you the game.
• Look for your opponent’s chains and block the landing holes they need.
• Pieces in the middle of the board are useful to everyone. Use them as stepping stones before your opponent does.