Finishing the race
Ten pegs, a six pointed star and one long hop across the middle.
You built a ladder, you crossed the middle first, and then you spent nine turns nudging one peg into the last hole while your opponent poured theirs in behind you. This is the most common way to lose Chinese Checkers, and it is entirely avoidable once you plan the finish before you get there.
Fill from the back
The deepest hole in your goal triangle, the tip furthest from you, is the hardest to reach and the easiest to block. Fill it first. Every peg that lands in front of it makes it harder to reach, and a triangle filled front to back leaves you needing a step by step crawl at the exact moment you can least afford one.
Never leave a straggler
A peg left at home while the rest of your army travels is the single most expensive mistake in the game. It cannot be helped by the chains you have already used, because those pegs have moved on, and it will need a dozen steps of its own.
Move your rearmost peg regularly, even when a forward move looks more attractive. The race is decided by your slowest peg, not your fastest.
Watch the opponent's last holes
A peg of yours sitting in your opponent's goal triangle does not win you anything, but it does stop them finishing. It is legal, it is rude, and it is sometimes the only way to save a lost race. Use it if you must, and expect it to be used on you.
Play a game
Reading about a game is practice for playing it and nothing more. The board is open, it is free, and nothing needs installing.
Common questions
- How do you win at Chinese Checkers?
- By being the first player to occupy every hole of the triangle directly opposite your starting one.
- What if a peg is stuck in my goal triangle?
- An opponent's peg sitting in your goal can stop you filling it. Most house rules count you as the winner if all your pegs are home except for holes blocked by an opponent, so agree the rule before you start.
- Why do I keep losing after leading the whole game?
- Almost always a straggler, or a triangle filled from the front. Both cost turns at the exact moment you have none to spare.
More on Chinese Checkers
Chinese Checkers strategy
Build a ladder, jump it, and refuse to leave stragglers behind. The three ideas that decide almost every game of Chinese Checkers, explained with the moves.
Jumping and jump chains
How jumps work, why a chain of them counts as one move, and how to set up the long hops that decide games. The rule that makes Chinese Checkers a strategy game.
Chinese Checkers is not checkers
Different board, different pieces, no captures and no relation. What Chinese Checkers actually is, where the name came from, and why it is not Chinese.
This site is built around Xiangqi, Chinese chess. If you enjoy Chinese Checkers, the rules of Xiangqi take about five minutes, and there is always somebody to play.