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 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.
Example
Hard against Medium: ten computer-only games, and Hard won all ten
How much stronger is Hard? We let the page’s own computer play itself on the default two-player board, Hard against Medium, ten games, each level taking red (bottom, moves first) five times. Both rate a move by the rows it gains, a little more for marbles left behind; Hard also looks at the next player’s best reply and its own move after that.
| Game | Hard played | Hard’s moves to win | Medium’s marbles in place |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Red | 39 | 2 of 10 |
| 2 | Blue | 42 | 5 of 10 |
| 3 | Red | 50 | 7 of 10 |
| 4 | Blue | 47 | 4 of 10 |
| 5 | Red | 46 | 4 of 10 |
| 6 | Blue | 42 | 6 of 10 |
| 7 | Red | 41 | 7 of 10 |
| 8 | Blue | 41 | 4 of 10 |
| 9 | Red | 47 | 5 of 10 |
| 10 | Blue | 38 | 4 of 10 |
Hard won 10 of 10 in 38 to 50 moves (43.3 on average); when it filled the far point, Medium still had only 2 to 7 marbles in place. Medium against itself is slower: in 20 games the winner needed 47 to 59 moves. So beat Medium first, then try Hard, and watch “Fewest moves in a win” in your record drop.
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.
- How do the computer levels differ?
- Easy plays a random move that brings a marble nearer its target. Medium plays the move that gains the most rows, with a little extra for marbles left at the back. Hard also looks at the next player’s best reply and its own move after that, so it builds longer jump chains and rarely leaves a straggler.
- Can I take back a move?
- Yes, when you play alone against the computer: Undo takes back your last move together with the computer’s replies after it, up to 60 of your moves. With two or more people on one screen there is no undo.
- Is anything sent anywhere?
- No. The game runs in your browser.