Jumping and jump chains
Ten pegs, a six pointed star and one long hop across the middle.
One rule carries this entire game: a peg may hop over a single adjacent peg into the empty hole directly beyond, and it may keep hopping as long as more jumps are available, all in one turn. Nothing is captured, nobody is removed, and the board fills up with stepping stones that belong to everybody. Understand jumping properly and you will stop playing Chinese Checkers as a shuffling race.
The rule, precisely
- A jump needs three things in a straight line: your peg, exactly one adjacent peg, and an empty hole immediately beyond it.
- The peg you jump can be yours or your opponent's. It stays where it is.
- After landing, if another jump is available from the new hole, you may take it, and again, for as long as they continue.
- You can also simply step one hole in any of the six directions, but a step and a jump cannot be combined in the same turn.
Why chains change everything
A single step moves one peg one hole. A chain can move one peg most of the way across the board. Since both players get the same number of turns, the game is won by whoever converts more of their turns into chains.
That is why good players spend early moves placing pegs where they will be jumped over rather than pushing them forward. A peg standing in the right gap is worth more than a peg one hole further along.
Two traps to watch for
First, a chain that ends badly. A long jump that deposits a peg on the edge of the board, far from your goal triangle, has wasted a great move. Look at where the chain ends, not at how long it is.
Second, building a ladder your opponent uses. The pegs you place are jumpable by them too. If your staircase points at their goal as neatly as yours, you have done half their work.
Play a game
Reading about a game is practice for playing it and nothing more. The board is open, it is free, and nothing needs installing.
Common questions
- Can you jump more than one peg at a time?
- Not over two pegs standing together. You jump exactly one peg per hop, but you may chain several hops in a single turn.
- Are jumps compulsory in Chinese Checkers?
- No. Unlike draughts, you never have to jump. You can always take a single step instead.
- Do jumped pegs get captured?
- Never. Nothing is ever removed from the board. That is why the middle gets crowded and why chains get long.
More on Chinese Checkers
Chinese Checkers strategy
Build a ladder, jump it, and refuse to leave stragglers behind. The three ideas that decide almost every game of Chinese Checkers, explained with the moves.
Finishing the race
Most games are lost in the last ten moves. How to fill your goal triangle back to front, avoid stranded pegs, and finish the race you were winning.
Chinese Checkers is not checkers
Different board, different pieces, no captures and no relation. What Chinese Checkers actually is, where the name came from, and why it is not Chinese.
This site is built around Xiangqi, Chinese chess. If you enjoy Chinese Checkers, the rules of Xiangqi take about five minutes, and there is always somebody to play.