How to Play Chinese Checkers: Rules and Setup
Chinese Checkers is played on a six-pointed star by 2, 3, 4 or 6 players, each with 10 marbles in one point of the star. On your turn you move one marble: either one step into a neighbouring empty hole, or a jump over a single marble (of any colour) into the empty hole right behind it, and you can chain jumps as long as you can. Nothing is captured. The first player to fill the triangle opposite their start wins.
The board and the setup
The board is a star of 121 holes: a hexagon in the middle with a triangle of 10 holes on each of its six sides. Each player picks a colour and fills one triangle with their 10 marbles. Your goal is the triangle directly opposite.
| Players | Starting triangles |
|---|---|
| 2 | Two opposite points |
| 3 | Every other point, so nobody starts opposite anyone |
| 4 | Two pairs of opposite points |
| 6 | All six points |
Moving: steps and jumps
Players take turns, moving one marble per turn. A move is either:
- A step: move into any of the six holes right next to the marble, if it's empty.
- A jump: hop over one neighbouring marble, yours or anyone's, into the empty hole straight behind it.
After a jump, you may jump again from where you landed, in any direction, as many times as you can. This chain is the heart of the game: a good chain can cross half the board in one turn. You can't mix steps and jumps: a step ends your turn.
Nothing is captured
Unlike checkers, jumped marbles stay on the board. Other players' marbles are just stepping stones, and so are yours. That's why the middle of the board gets crowded and lively in games with more players.
Reaching the target triangle
Once a marble has reached your target triangle, it may move around inside it but can't leave again. The first player to fill all 10 holes of their target wins.
Blocking rule: a rival might leave a marble sitting in your target to stop you. Under the common modern rule, used on GameLake, you win as soon as every hole of your target is filled and at least one of those marbles is yours. So it never pays to camp in someone's triangle.
Playing on GameLake
- Play Chinese Checkers against Hops the frog at Easy, Medium or Hard, with his pond friends at bigger tables.
- Choose Friends to pass one device around, or go Online and send a link: 2, 3, 4 or 6 players.
- Tap a marble (or drag it), then a glowing hole: a small dot is a step, a ring is a jump.
- Stuck? Teach me shows a good move and says why.
For tactics like ladders and avoiding stragglers, read our Chinese Checkers strategy guide.
Frequently asked questions
How many marbles does each player have in Chinese Checkers?
Ten, filling one point of the star.
Can you jump over your own marbles in Chinese Checkers?
Yes. You can jump over any single marble, yours or a rival's, as long as the hole right behind it is empty.
Can you jump more than once in Chinese Checkers?
Yes. After a jump you may keep jumping from where you land, in any direction, as long as each jump is legal.
Can 5 people play Chinese Checkers?
Not fairly: one player would have nobody opposite. The game is played with 2, 3, 4 or 6.
What if someone leaves marbles in my triangle?
Under the modern rule you win once every hole of your target is filled and at least one marble there is yours.
Is Chinese Checkers from China?
No. It was invented in Germany in 1892 as Stern-Halma. The name Chinese Checkers came from American sellers in the late 1920s.