1: The board is a six-pointed star. Each point is a triangle of ten holes.There are six sets of ten pegs or marbles, each set its own color.
2: Each player sets ten pieces in one point of the star.Two, three, four or six can play.
3: Your home is the point directly opposite the one you start in.The aim is to get all ten pieces there first.
4: Players take turns, clockwise, moving one piece a turn.A coin toss can decide who starts.
5: A step moves a piece into an empty hole next to it, in any direction.A step never goes farther than one hole.
6: A hop jumps one piece in the next hole, yours or anyone's, into the empty hole beyond.The hop goes in a straight line.
7: A hop can chain: the same piece keeps hopping while there is a piece to hop.You may stop the chain whenever you like.
8: A turn is a step or hops, never both.Hopped pieces stay on the board. Nothing is captured.
9: The first player to fill the opposite point with all ten pieces wins.The others can play on for second and third place.
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Which points to use: 2, 3, 4 or 6 players 9
1: Six players: every point is used, one color each.Play each for yourself, or as three teams of two.
2: Six in teams: partners sit at opposite points and each moves only their own color.The first team to bring both sets home wins.
3: Four players: two pairs of opposite points. The last two points stay unused.Each player races into the start of the player opposite.
4: Three players: every other point, so each player races into an empty point.Nobody sits opposite anybody.
5: Three players, longer game: each plays two sets, placed at opposite points.All six points are in use.
6: Two players: opposite points, each racing into the other's start.With one set each, some rules give each player 15 pieces.
7: Two players, longer game: two or three sets each.With three sets each, every point is in use.
8: Five is not a standard count: one player alone would race into an empty point.Play as four, or find a sixth.
9: Unused points: leave them empty, or fill them with their spare pegs so nobody enters.Rules differ. Decide before the first move.
The step and the chain of hops 9
1: A piece moves along the lines of holes, in any of six directions.Backward and sideways moves are allowed.
2: A step goes exactly one hole, and the hole must be empty.It is the slow way across.
3: A hop needs a piece in the very next hole and an empty hole straight behind it.Two pieces in a row cannot be hopped.
4: You may hop your own pieces and other players' pieces alike.The hopped piece is not moved or removed.
5: After a hop the same piece may hop again, in a new direction if it likes.A long chain can carry one piece from its start to its home in a single turn.
6: You never have to hop, and you may stop a chain partway.Stopping short can block a rival or line up your next move.
7: You cannot step and then hop, or hop and then step, in one turn.Choose one kind of move.
8: A ladder is a line of pieces a hole apart that later pieces hop along.Any player can use a ladder, whoever built it.
9: Fast game: a piece may hop one piece any distance away, landing the same distance past.The holes between must be empty, before the hopped piece and after it.
A blocked home point and other rulings 7
1: The dispute: a rival's piece sits in your home point and you cannot fill it.Most printed rules do not mention it.
2: Ruling A: you win when every hole of your home point not held by a rival holds yours.A blocker cannot stop the win.
3: Ruling B: if a rival's piece keeps you from winning, your piece may swap places with it.On a step or on any hop of a chain. One rules page proposes this.
4: A piece that has reached its home point may not leave it.It may still move within the point.
5: Other players' points: one suggestion is to hop through them but never stop in one.House rules differ here.
6: No piece is ever taken off the board.That holds for every sheet but the Capture game.
7: Choose your rulings before the first move, not when the home point jams.Our advice.
Other games on the same board 6
1: Capture: all sixty pieces start in the middle hexagon, with the center hole empty.Colors do not matter in this game.
2: In Capture, players take turns hopping any piece over any other. Hopped pieces are taken.Only hops are allowed, never steps.
3: Capture ends when no hop is left. The player with the most pieces taken wins.Two or more can play.
4: Order Out of Chaos: every player's marbles start scattered in the center.The race is outward, each player to their own home point.
5: The diamond game, played in Japan and South Korea, is a form for two or three players.Each side has ten or fifteen pieces.
6: Yin and Yang: two players, black marbles against white.The two starting points need not be opposite each other.
How this list was compiled: Written for this site on 2026-10-09, in our own words. Chinese checkers has no governing body, and printed rules differ on points the sheets name. Read on 2026-10-09: English Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, in its article Chinese checkers, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_checkers (the German origin in 1892 as Stern-Halma; two, three, four or six players; ten pieces each, or fifteen for two players; the step, the hop and the chain of hops; no capturing; turns going clockwise; play continuing for the other places; the starting layouts; teams; ladders; the fast game with long hops, Capture, the diamond game, Yin and Yang and Order Out of Chaos; a board of 121 holes); and The Rules of Chinese Checkers by Masters Traditional Games, https://www.mastersofgames.com/rules/chinese-checkers-rules.htm, read in the Internet Archive's copy of 29 September 2025 (ten holes in each point and five along each side of the middle hexagon; the coin toss; the six directions; a piece that is home staying home; unused points left empty or filled; other players' points hopped through but not stopped in; and the two rulings on a blocked home point, the second of which that page proposes itself). That page belongs to a shop; this page has no tie to it. The count of 61 holes in the hexagon, the reason five is not a standard count and the worked turn are ours. The row that says to choose the rulings before the first move is our own advice. Licence: own work
How it works
Chinese checkers is a race across a star-shaped board for two, three, four or six players. Nothing is captured: pieces hop over one another to cross faster. Germany is where the game was invented, in 1892, under the name Stern-Halma.
Read the full guide
One turn with a chain of hops
Your piece has one of your own pieces in the next hole and an empty hole behind that: hop it. Where you land, a rival's piece sits in the next hole on another line, with an empty hole beyond: hop again. Nothing else can be hopped, so the turn ends there. You were free to stop after the first hop.
Why the head count changes the game
With three players every home point starts empty, so a ladder of pieces can be built straight into it. With two, four or six your home is a rival's start, and its holes open only as that rival moves out.
Move your back pieces early. A piece left alone in your start has nothing to hop and walks home a hole at a time.
Questions and answers
How do you play Chinese checkers with 3 players?
Each player takes every other point of the star and races into the empty point opposite. For a longer game each player runs two sets of ten pieces, placed at opposite points, and all six points are used.
Can you jump your own pieces in Chinese checkers?
Yes. A hop goes over one piece in the next hole, your own or a rival's, into the empty hole straight beyond it. The hopped piece stays where it is.
Do you have to jump in Chinese checkers?
No. A hop is never forced, and a chain of hops can be stopped partway. Each turn you choose a single step or a run of hops with one piece.
What if another player blocks your home triangle?
Most printed rules do not say. Two rulings are in use: you win once every hole a rival does not hold is filled, or your piece may swap places with the blocker. Choose one before the first move.
How many holes are on a Chinese checkers board?
121. Each of the six points has ten holes, and the hexagon between them has 61.