Board Games
How to play Chinese Checkers
Race ten marbles to the opposite star point. Jump chains accelerate movement, but jumped marbles remain and no pieces become kings.
What you need
Six-point Chinese Checkers board and ten marbles per player
Set up the game
- For two players use opposite points; three alternating points; four two opposite pairs; six all points. Fill each home with ten marbles. Choose a starter and play left.
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Playing Chinese Checkers
- Move one marble to an adjacent empty hole along a line, or jump with that marble. Do not combine a step and jump.
- Jump one immediately adjacent marble into the empty hole directly beyond along a straight line. Your own or an opponent’s marble can be the bridge.
- Chain more legal jumps, changing direction between them if desired. Remove no marbles.
- First to fill every hole of the opposite triangle with their ten wins. No capture score exists.
A bridge can be reused
Your marble jumps over blue into an empty hole, then over a red into another empty hole. Both bridges remain. Either player can later use the same bridge if a landing is open. Removing blue would erase a route the movement rules intentionally preserve.
State the starting variant
Winning Moves also describes controlling multiple colors at some player counts. Do not mix its objective with the one-color race here. Its casual five-player setup gives the unmatched empty destination to a beginner as an advantage.
Blocking needs a pregame agreement
The short publisher sheet gives no universal anti-blocking adjudication. Agree a house rule for indefinite destination occupation before starting if desired. One online platform’s shortcut for a blocked finish is not universal Chinese Checkers law.
Beginner decisions
- Advance a rear marble before creating a chain useful only to the leader. The slowest piece can decide the finish.
- A sideways move may prepare two bridges next turn; check the route beyond the first landing.
Common rule mix-ups
- Removing jumped marbles as in draughts.
- Jumping several empty holes toward a distant marble.
Questions about this game
Can I move backward?
Yes, along any board-line direction.
Must I take every possible jump?
No maximum-jump requirement appears in this sheet.
Sources and edition notes
Winning Moves ten-marble Chinese Checkers with adjacent jumps. Multi-set variants are separate choices.
Sources and stated format checked October 14, 2026. This records a document check, not a claim of hands-on testing.
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