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Chinese checkers Rules

Ten marbles across the star — two to six at the board.

👥 2, 3, 4 or 6 players · Sternhalma · Star halma

Chinese checkers is the race across the six-pointed star: 121 holes, ten marbles a player, and one object — move all ten from your point of the star to the one opposite. A marble steps to a neighbouring hole or hops over any marble in the way, chaining hop after hop across the board, and nothing is ever captured. Two, three, four or six play, against the computer or online on a clock, under Standard or Long-jump rules.

Ways to play Chinese checkers

Against the computer

Pick your side and a level — Easy, Medium or Hard — and play Chinese checkers offline. The game is kept in your browser, exactly where you left it.

Online, on a clock

Create a board, choose your colour, set a clock from one minute to sixty — or none at all — and share the code. Only the side to move has their clock running.

In 2D or 3D

Lay the board flat or stand it up. Every piece rises onto its square, and you can flip between them mid-game.

Seven boards, seven sets

Classic felt, Renaissance marble, Stone Age sandstone, Ice Age glacier, Jurassic amber, a Crustacean tide pool and a medieval chamber — changed while you play.

🎯 Objective

Be the first to fill the camp opposite your own. When someone does, the game ends and everyone else is placed by how far their marbles have come.

🎲 Chinese checkers setup

The board is a star of 121 holes: a hexagon of 61 in the middle and six points of ten.
Two players sit opposite each other; three take every other point; four take two pairs of opposite points; six fill the star. Five cannot play.
Each player fills their point of the star with ten marbles of their colour — Red, Blue, Green, Yellow, Purple and Orange, in seat order.
Choose Standard or Long-jump rules, and the engine’s level for any computer seats. Red, at the bottom, moves first.

▶ How to play Chinese checkers

On your turn move one marble: a step to an adjacent empty hole, or a chain of hops.
A hop jumps one adjacent marble — yours or anyone’s — into the empty hole directly beyond it. Hops chain: keep hopping with the same marble for as long as you can, and stop after any hop you like.
Nothing is captured. Every marble hopped over stays where it is.
A marble may pass through or rest in any part of the board, other players’ camps and its own included.
Under Long-jump rules a hop may clear one marble at any distance along a line, landing the same distance beyond it, provided every hole between is empty. Long and short hops chain freely.
A player with no legal move is skipped. Play passes in seat order.

📖 Detailed guide

The star, and who sits where

Six points of ten holes around a hexagon of sixty-one: 121 in all, numbered 1 to 121 from the top point down.
Your target is always the point directly opposite your own.
Two play across the board; three take alternate points so nobody is squeezed; four take two opposite pairs; six fill the star. Five is refused — the geometry has no fair seat for a fifth.
The board turns so that your camp is at the bottom whichever seat you hold.

Steps, hops and chains

A step is one hole in any of the six directions, into an empty hole.
A hop clears one adjacent marble into the empty hole beyond. The marble hopped over can be any colour, and it stays put.
A chain is hop after hop with the same marble, and you may stop after any of them — tap the marble to see every hole it can reach, then tap the one you want.
Two chains that end in the same hole are the same move; the app plays the shortest path.

Long-jump rules

Chosen before the game, beside the number of players. Standard is the default.
Along any line, a marble may hop over one marble any distance away and land the same distance beyond it, as long as every hole in between is empty.
Distance one is the ordinary hop, so every Standard move is still legal — the long game simply adds more.
Long and short hops chain freely, and the game ends the same way.

How the game ends

The first player to fill their target camp wins, and the game stops there.
The others are placed at that moment: marbles already home count first, then the distance the rest still have to travel.
Resigning takes you out of the race — you stay to watch, your marbles stay as obstacles, and you place below everyone still in. On a timed board, a clock that runs out does the same.
When only one player is left in, they win.

Offline, online and the clock

Offline you choose the number of players, the rules and the level, and every other seat is the computer. The game is kept in your browser between visits; Undo takes back your move and the computers’ replies.
The computer takes a moment to think before each move — about a second — so a table with several computer seats plays at a human pace.
Online you create a board for two to six, decide how many of the seats the computer takes, set a clock from one to sixty minutes or none, and share the code or an invite link.
Every seat has its own clock, and only the seat to move is running.

Boards, 3D and sound

The same seven boards as chess and draughts, and the same 2D/3D switch — the star tilts away from you and the marbles stand on their holes.
On the Medieval board every move sounds: a step, the run of a hop chain, and a low bell at the end.

🏁 How Chinese checkers is won

The first player to fill the opposite camp wins — all ten holes occupied, at least one by their own marble, so an opponent squatting there cannot block the win. Everyone else is placed by progress: more marbles home first, then the shorter distance still to go. A player who resigns or whose clock runs out drops out, places below everyone still in, and leaves their marbles on the board as obstacles.

❓ Chinese checkers — frequently asked questions

How many players do you need for Chinese checkers?

Chinese checkers is played by 2–6. Seats you do not fill are taken by the computer, so a game always starts.

When can I play Chinese checkers?

Chinese checkers is in development. It will arrive in Chess & Checkers by Vanikar™ and is included in the same subscription as the card games, with nothing separate to buy.

Is Chinese checkers included in my subscription?

Yes. One Card Games by Vanikar™ subscription covers the card games, Chess & Checkers and the board games, and every game released after them.

Does Chinese checkers have ads?

No. No Vanikar™ game has ever carried advertising, and none ever will.

How many people can play Chinese checkers?

Two, three, four or six. Five is not a valid count on the star, so the app refuses it. Any seat can be the computer, online as well as offline.

Do you capture pieces in Chinese checkers?

No. A hop passes over a marble and leaves it exactly where it was. The whole game is a race; the only way to lose marbles is to leave them behind.

What are Long-jump rules?

A variant chosen before the game starts. A marble may hop over one marble at any distance along a line and land the same distance beyond it, as long as every hole between is empty. Ordinary hops are still allowed, so long-jump games move faster and chain further.