Chinese Checkers is not checkers
Ten pegs, a six pointed star and one long hop across the middle.
Two games with almost the same name and nothing else in common. Checkers is a capture game on a square board. Chinese Checkers is a race on a six pointed star where nothing is ever captured. The name is a marketing decision from the United States in the late 1920s, and the game itself was invented in Germany as Stern Halma. None of which stops it being one of the best family strategy games ever made.
The differences that matter at the board
- Board: a 121 hole six pointed star, not an eight by eight grid of squares.
- Goal: occupy the triangle opposite you, not capture every enemy piece.
- Jumps: over one peg of either colour, never compulsory, and nothing is removed.
- Direction: pegs move in all six directions, forward and back, from the first move.
Where the name came from
The game descends from Halma, an American game from the 1880s played on a square board, redesigned in Germany around 1892 on a star shaped board as Stern Halma. It reached the United States in the late 1920s, where it was marketed under a Chinese sounding name because games from China were fashionable at the time.
So the game is European, the name is American, and the only Chinese thing about it is the label. If you want an actual Chinese board game with two thousand years behind it, that is Xiangqi.
Which one to play
Checkers rewards calculation and forcing sequences. Chinese Checkers rewards planning several moves of construction ahead, and it takes two to six players instead of two, which is why it ends up on more kitchen tables.
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
- Is Chinese Checkers from China?
- No. It was invented in Germany in the 1890s as Stern Halma, based on the American game Halma, and given the name Chinese Checkers by American manufacturers in the late 1920s.
- Is Chinese Checkers the same as checkers?
- No. Different board, different goal, no captures, and moves in six directions rather than diagonally on squares.
- How many players can play?
- The star board supports two, three, four or six players. The version here is a two player game against the computer or a friend.
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.
Finishing the race
Most games are lost in the last ten moves. How to fill your goal triangle back to front, avoid stranded pegs, and finish the race you were winning.
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.