Introduction to Playing Chinese Checkers

Series Summary

Chinese checkers is a board game usually played by 2-6 people, where the objective is to move 10 game pieces from one side of the board to the other. Games are usually carried out on a game board shaped like a six-pointed star, and each set of pieces is a different color. Gameplay is turn-based; each player starts in the one of the points of the star and attempts to move his pieces as far as possible in one turn. This can best be achieved by “hopping” over other adjacent pieces, versus a normal move of one peg in any direction. Making multiple jumps is the key to winning the game of Chinese checkers. The name “Chinese checkers” is a misnomer: the game did not originate in China, as the name suggests, but was first called “Chinese” in the United States as a marketing scheme to make it more attractive to Westerners. Nevertheless, people all over the world have been enjoying the game for years. In this free video series, learn how to play a game of Chinese checkers. Our expert will demonstrate the basic moves the pieces make, with a discussion of the rules of the game, as well as some tips on playing strategies that will increase your chances of winning.

Video Transcript

"Hi! My name is Carlos Ramos Jr. and today we're talking about the game of Chinese checkers. Now when you hear the game Chinese checkers you may think simply a game of checkers played in China, that's incorrect. Chinese checkers is neither checkers nor Chinese, it's a game based on Halma, that game is based loosely on the British board game Hoppity, Halma came into being the 1870s to 1880s in Britain. Then a German company modified the board game into the familiar 6 point star we know today as Chinese checkers, they called it Stern-Halma. Stern meaning star, the same type of star that you see here on the board game of Chinese checkers but that's just your basic introduction into the history of Chinese checkers."