How to Play Chinese Checkers

Chinese checkers is a game of strategy and skill that originated in Germany in the late nineteenth century. The first name for Chinese checkers was Stern-Halma, but the name was changed to make it seem more exotic to Westerners. The board is a 6-pointed star with colored pegs or marbles as playing pieces. 2 to 6 people can play a game of Chinese checkers at one time. The object is to move your colored pegs strategically and fill up the star's point that is directly across from yours. The first player to move all 10 of his playing pieces into his opponent's area of the board wins the game.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Coin

1. Familiarize yourself with the Chinese checkers board before you begin to play. The board is in the shape of a star with 6 points, each point or triangle having 10 holes for the pegs or marbles that serve as the playing pieces. The interior of the board is a hexagon, with each side being 5 holes or spaces long.

2. Choose the color peg you will play with and set up your pieces while your opponent does the same in the playing area directly opposite yours. Insert the pegs starting from the tip of the triangle to ensure you have placed all of your pieces correctly. Your pegs should fit into the point of the star completely, without spilling over into the hexagon in the middle of the board.

3. Flip a coin to determine who will start the game of Chinese checkers. After the first move, the players will take turns moving their playing pieces.

4. Move your pegs, 1 hole at a time, in a forward motion across the board. Pegs must be moved into an empty space at all times. To advance quickly across the board, move in a straight line rather than placing your pegs into holes on the other points of the star.

5. Jump over pieces to advance more quickly across the board. You can jump over your own pieces or your opponent's as long as there is an empty spot on the other side for your piece to land on. Multiple jumps are allowed in 1 move and can speed up the game considerably.

6. Focus on getting all of your pegs into the other player's triangle in the fewest possible moves. Once you have moved 1 piece into that area, leave it there and turn your attention to the other pieces that need to make a similar journey across the board. The first person to place all 10 of their pegs in their opponent's triangle wins the game of Chinese checkers.

Tips & Warnings

• As you gain more experience in Chinese checkers, you can begin to strategize. Look for ways to set up jumps to help you move your pegs across the board in just a few turns. With practice, you can learn to block your opponent from jumping your pegs as well.