Chinese checkers rules
Move all 10 of your pieces across the star board to the opposite point before anyone else does. The rules in short, with pictures, and a few tips.
The board
Chinese checkers is played on a star with six points. The board has 121 spots, and every point has 10 of them. Inside the board, each spot has six neighbors.
How the pieces start
Every player has 10 pieces and starts with them in one point of the star. The point across from yours is your goal.
- 2 players: the two points across from each other.
- 3 players: every other point. The three goals start empty.
- 4 players: two pairs of points that sit next to each other. Every player has another player across.
- 6 players: all six points.
Taking turns
Player 1 goes first. Then the turns go in order, Player 2, Player 3 and so on, and after the last player it is Player 1 again. In Leapstone the colors go with the numbers: red, blue, green, yellow, purple and silver.
On your turn you move one piece, once. Nothing is captured: pieces stay on the board until their player resigns.
A step
Move a piece to an empty spot next to it.
A jump
Jump over one piece next to yours, of any color, and land on the empty spot right behind it, in a straight line. You can jump in any of the six directions, also backwards.
- The spot you land on must be empty.
- You cannot jump over two pieces in a row, or over an empty spot.
- The piece you jump over stays where it is.
A chain of jumps
After a jump, the same piece may jump again, as many times as it can and in any direction. You decide where to stop. All the jumps together are one move.
- In one move you cannot land on the same spot twice.
- A move is one step, or one or more jumps. You cannot step after a jump.
The goal
You win by moving all 10 of your pieces into the point across from where you started. All 10 spots of that point must hold your own pieces. While a piece of another player sits there, you cannot finish.
You may land on any empty spot, also in the points of other players.
With 2, 3, 4 or 6 players
- 2 players: the first player to fill the goal wins, and the game is over.
- 3, 4 or 6 players: the first player to fill the goal wins. The others play on for the next places, and a player who is done is skipped. The game is over when only one player is still playing.
Resigning
When you resign, your pieces leave the board, so they do not block anyone. With 2 players, the other player wins. With more players the game goes on without you, and if everyone but one player resigns, the last player wins.
In an online game every move has a time limit. The player who starts the game sets it, and in a quick game it is 30 seconds. When your time runs out, your turn is skipped. If you miss 3 turns in a row, you resign. Games against the computer and on one phone have no time limit.
Tips
- Build ladders. Put pieces in a line with one empty spot between them, pointing at your goal. One piece can then jump along the whole line in a single move.
Four pieces in a line: the red piece at the top crosses the board in one move, with four jumps. - Any piece is a ladder. You can jump over every color, so the pieces of the other players help you too. And your own ladders help them: look at what you leave behind.
- Do not forget the stragglers. You need all 10 pieces home. A piece far behind, with nothing to jump over, moves one spot per turn. Bring it along while the other pieces are still around it.
- Your start is their goal. With 2, 4 or 6 players, your start point is the goal of the player across from you, and they cannot finish while one of your pieces is still there. The same goes for you.