Rules of Chinese Checkers

What is Chinese Checkers?

Chinese Checkers is a classic strategy board game for 2 to 6 players. Despite the name, the game was invented in Germany in 1892 as "Stern-Halma". The board is shaped like a six-pointed star, with each point forming a triangle of 10 or 15 cells.

The Board

The board is a hexagonal star with six colored triangles (zones). Each player starts with their pieces placed in one of the triangles. The center of the board is a shared area used for movement.

Goal of the Game

Move all your pieces from your starting triangle to the opposite triangle before your opponents do the same. The first player to fill the opposite zone wins.

How to Move

• Step: Move a piece to any adjacent empty cell.
• Jump: Jump over an adjacent piece (yours or opponent's) to land on the empty cell beyond it.
• Chain jumps: You can make multiple jumps in a single turn, as long as each jump is valid.

Obstacles (ChiCheckers Feature)

• Barrier — Cannot be jumped over or landed on. Blocks movement completely.
• Trampoline (Step) — You can land on it — your piece bounces further in the same direction.
• Trampoline (Jump) — Cannot be landed on, but can be jumped over like a regular piece.

Win Conditions

• All pieces — Move all your pieces to the goal zone to win.
• First piece — The first player to get any piece into the goal zone wins.
• N pieces — Win by getting a specific number of pieces to the goal zone.

Strategy Tips

• Build chains of pieces in a line so you can make long multi-jump moves.
• Don't leave pieces behind — isolated pieces are hard to advance.
• Control the center of the board for more movement options.