History

Sternhalma grew out of Halma, a game invented in 1883–84 by George Howard Monks, a Boston surgeon, with his friend Thomas Hill. Halma (Greek for "jump") was played on a square 16×16 board, with pieces hopping toward the opposite corner.

In 1892 the German firm Ravensburger published a star-shaped version called Stern-Halma ("star Halma"). The six-pointed board let two, three, four or six people play at once, and it became a popular family game across Europe.

How it became "Chinese Checkers"

In 1928 the American company J. Pressman & Co. brought the star game to the United States, first as "Hop Ching Checkers" and soon as "Chinese Checkers." The name was pure marketing, riding a fashion for exotic, Asian-themed products in the 1920s. The game has no Chinese origin and isn't a form of checkers, but the name stuck and spread worldwide, including back to China and Japan.

Objective

Be the first to move all ten of your marbles from your home point into the point directly across the star.

Rules

1. Players take turns clockwise. You play the red marbles at the bottom and always move first.
2. On your turn, move one marble either one step to an adjacent empty hole, or by one or more hops.
3. Classic hops: jump over one adjacent marble (anyone's color) into the empty hole directly beyond it.
4. Super-hop: jump over a marble any distance away in a straight line, landing the same distance beyond it. The holes between must be empty.
5. Hops can be chained in any direction within one turn. A step can't be combined with hops.
6. Marbles are never captured; jumped marbles stay where they are.
7. You win when your target point is completely filled. If opponents' marbles are stuck there, you still win once it's full and holds at least one of yours.
8. If a player has no legal move, their turn passes.

Strategy

1. Build ladders. Space your marbles one hole apart in a line so later marbles can hop the whole length in one turn.
2. Use every marble on the board. Opponents' marbles are stepping stones too. Look for long chains before settling for a single step.
3. Don't leave stragglers. A marble left behind at home costs many slow turns at the end. Bring up the rear regularly.
4. Travel the center. The middle of the board offers the most hopping partners and the straightest route across.
5. Fill your target from the tip. Send the first arrivals deepest so later marbles have open holes near the entrance.
6. Watch what you open up. A move that builds you a ladder may build one for an opponent as well.
7. In Super-hop, think in mirrors. A lone marble halfway across an open line can launch you a long way.