About Chinese Checkers
Chinese checkers is the star-shaped race that is neither Chinese nor checkers: it was invented in Germany in 1892 as Sternhalma and renamed by American marketers. The core thrill survives every rebrand — chain your marbles through hop after hop and pour them into the far corner before your opponent does.
This board makes long hop chains effortless: pick a marble and every legal landing lights up, including multi-jump routes you might have missed. Race four AI levels from easy to master, share a device with a friend, or open an online room and race someone anywhere via an invite link.
Chinese Checkers at a glance
- Origin
- Germany, 1892, as Sternhalma; the 'Chinese checkers' name came from US marketing in 1928
- Board
- Six-pointed star, 10 marbles per player
- Players
- 2 here (traditionally up to 6)
- Modes here
- vs AI (4 levels), same-screen 2P, online friend rooms
- Learn more
- Wikipedia
How to play Chinese Checkers
Each player starts with ten marbles in one point of the star. Move all ten into the opposite point first to win.
- On your turn, either step one marble to an adjacent empty hole, or jump over an adjacent marble (yours or the opponent's) into the empty hole directly beyond.
- Jumps can chain: after one hop, the same marble may keep hopping as long as legal jumps exist. One turn can cross half the board.
- Nothing is ever captured — jumped marbles stay put. The game is a pure race.
- You may pass through other regions of the star, but your marbles must finish in the point directly opposite your start.
- First player to fill the opposite point with all ten marbles wins.
Chinese Checkers strategy tips
- Build ladders: place marbles at hopping intervals so followers ride the same chain for free.
- Move as a pack — a lone runner with no marbles to hop over crawls one hole at a time.
- Use your opponent's marbles as springboards; the best chains bounce through their formation.
- Don't strand marbles in your home point; the last stragglers decide the race more often than the leaders.
- Before ending a chain, scan again — the highlighted routes often extend further than your first read.
Chinese Checkers FAQ
- Do jumped marbles get captured?
- No — jumping is purely for movement, and every marble stays on the board for the whole game. That is the biggest difference from checkers and why the game is really a race, not a battle.
- How long can a jump chain be?
- As long as legal hops keep existing — each hop must clear exactly one adjacent marble into an empty hole straight beyond. On a busy board a single marble can cross most of the star in one turn, and the board highlights each continuation for you.
- Can my opponent block my home corner?
- Marbles can sit anywhere, but stalling inside your target corner is a losing plan against this board's win logic and a fast opponent — lanes around a squatter almost always exist. Build your ladders and route around traffic.
- Can I play Chinese checkers online with a friend?
- Yes. Open a room from this page and share the link — both of you race on the same live star from any browser, with hop chains animating in real time and no accounts involved.
- Is this related to regular checkers at all?
- Only by marketing name. Regular checkers is a capture game on an 8×8 grid; this is a no-capture race across a star-shaped board, descended from the game halma. The hop mechanic is the one thing they share.
Games like Chinese Checkers
Ten marbles, one glorious hop chain across the star — start the race free in your browser.