Chinese Checkers Rules

Board and Camps

Six triangles form a star around a central hexagon. This two-player game uses opposite camps: Red starts in one triangle and tries to fill Blue's starting triangle, while Blue does the reverse. Each side begins with all ten marbles in its home camp.

The name comes from a product sold in the United States as Chinese Checkers in 1928. The game itself developed from the German game Sternhalma. It is unrelated to Chinese chess or American checkers.

Steps and Hop Chains

Each hole connects in as many as six directions. If the next hole is empty, move the selected marble one step into it. The turn ends there; you cannot take a second step.

When an adjacent hole contains any marble and the next hole on the same line is empty, you may hop over that marble. You can jump either color, but the landing must be open. The marble you cross stays in place; hopping does not capture it.

After the first hop, you may continue hopping from the new landing to form a hop chain. Every hop must cross one marble and land in the empty hole immediately beyond it, but the chain may change direction rather than staying on one line.

Completing a Turn

Select one of your marbles, then choose a legal destination. An adjacent empty hole makes a step; a farther highlighted hole makes a hop chain. You may stop at any legal landing and do not have to keep hopping until no move remains.

A hop chain cannot return to a hole already visited during the same turn, though that hole may be used again later. The whole chain counts as one move, and the move history saves its complete path.

Winning

As soon as all ten of your marbles occupy the ten holes in the opposite camp, the game ends, even if holes in the center remain empty. An opposing marble outside that camp does not affect the result. If your opponent still occupies any hole inside your destination camp, however, you have not filled it and have not yet won.

Getting the first marble into camp carries no special value; all ten must be there at the same time. The last marbles often decide the finish. If your leading marbles block the entrance or take shallow holes before the deep ones, the pieces behind them may need a long detour.

House Rules

House rules are not identical everywhere. Common variations forbid a marble from leaving its destination camp, require a player to continue hopping once a chain begins, or pair camps differently in multiplayer games. If you use any of these rules over the board, agree on them before play begins.

This board allows marbles to leave the destination camp and lets a hop chain end at any legal landing. You may also choose a step when a hop is available. There is no separate loss for blocking or stalemate: victory requires all ten marbles to occupy the opposite camp. Games against AI, same-device games, and online rooms all use the same move rulings.

Common Disputes

No Open Landing

You cannot hop. The adjacent marble may be either color, but the next hole on the same line must be empty.

Two Routes Are Available

Either route is legal, and you may also stop at the current landing. The rules do not require the longest route, and a chain that crosses more marbles has no priority.

You Block Your Own Entrance

You may move it to another legal hole or temporarily take it back out of the destination camp to clear the way. Nine marbles in camp are not enough; all ten must arrive together.

An Opponent Is in Your Goal Camp

You cannot capture it or move it for your opponent; you must wait for them to move it away. Filling every other hole is not a win. All ten destination holes must be occupied by your ten marbles at the same time.

Illegal Moves

You cannot step two holes at once, bend a single hop around two marbles, or land on an occupied hole. Every hop must contain the complete pattern of an adjacent hurdle followed by an empty landing on the same line. You cannot move a marble off the board, move an opponent's marble, or remove a marble that was hopped.

This is not American checkers: there are no captures, forced jumps, kings, or 8×8 board. You can play checkers at checkers.plyyard.com.

Rules by Mode

Games against AI include hints, undo, and move-by-move replay. Same-device games include undo and replay without move suggestions. Online rooms sync both players' moves and allow resignations or draw offers, but not one-sided undo.

These tools change how you play and review the game, not how moves are judged. For help getting out of camp and building hop chains, read the Chinese Checkers strategy guide.

FAQ