If you are a new gambler, you may wonder what table game has the best odds. While is mainly card games, some say it’s dice games. Those are the two major variants when live casino games and odds are discussed. However, another game is often forgotten, and it uses marbles. It is called Chinese Checkers.
Chinese Checkers is a classic and exciting board game for players of all ages. What’s interesting about this game is its origin story. Despite its name, a known fun fact about it is that it has no connections to China or checkers at all. Each player controls a set of colorful marbles; the challenge lies in plotting the most efficient path while blocking opponents.
With pretty straightforward rules, the game boasts some fun moments with family and friends; now, let’s discover what’s underneath its gameplay in today’s casino news.
Chinese Checkers: Strategize, Jump, and Conquer!
Chinese Checkers is reportedly not of Chinese origin. The game broke out as a replica of another game, Halma — an American board game. Halma shared the same rules as the Chinese Checkers; the only difference was that people played it on a squared board and 2 to 4 players played it. American George Howard Monks is often credited for the invention of Halma in the early 1880s. The game led to the creation of similar casino games like Basilinda in the late 80s.
By 1892, a toy German company, Ravensburger, burst into the scene to invent a classic with one of the best table game odds called Stern-Halma, also known as Chinese Checkers. While Stern was a German word meaning “star,” hence the board shape, Halma is a Greek word that means “jump.” Stern-Halma became popularized when it was marketed in the US as Hop-Ching Checkers by the 1920s. A surge in popularity in the 1930s led to the name being rebranded as Chinese Checkers, thanks to Milton Bradley in 1941.
Popular Game Variants
Just as there are diverse variants of every game, like poker, video poker, Baccarat or the Virtual Baccarat version, blackjack, etc, the Chinese Checkers game has different versions. One such version is the fast-paced, or Super Chinese Checkers, a typical lively variant played in France. The game allows players to move over multiple occupied positions in a single hop, and unlike standard rules, it permits jumping over non-opposite pieces.
Another variation is Capture. In the Capture game, all the game pieces begin in the middle of the board. Players then take turns hopping over any other piece they can. When you jump over a piece, you capture it, and it’s out of the game. The player who captures the most pieces is the winner. As the game progresses, the board opens up, making capturing several pieces in one move easier. The Diamond game version, popular in South Korea and Japan, maintains the Chinese checkers’ jump rule. The goal is to enter all pieces into the star corner on the opposite side before the opponents. It offers versions with different board sizes and player options.
Some Basic Rules of Chinese Checkers
If you’re playing cards, you’ll ask for some common rules, like what is 52 factorial (a theory of unique deck card arrangement resulting from a mathematical expression). But this isn’t a game of cards, and things strike differently. The Chinese Checkers game has straightforward rules. The board is of a hexagram- or star-shaped pattern. Each player starts with ten to fifteen pieces—depending on the number of players—in one of the various points of the star. Usually, two to six players can get involved in the game, and the goal is to move all your pieces to the opposite point of the star.
There are two ways of getting to the opposition side. First, when it’s your turn, you can move one piece of your marble to an adjacent space or hop over one or more of your own or your opponent’s pieces. Hopping is only allowed in a straight line, and you can only jump over one piece at a time.
The game is all about strategy and reaching the other side efficiently. The player who gets all their pieces across first is declared the winner. However, the game decides 2nd place, 3rd place, and so on. Remember, basic Chinese Checkers do not capture or eliminate opponents’ pieces. It’s a race to move all your marbles to the opposite triangle. And that’s it!
Final Thoughts
Chinese Checkers is a delightful strategy game with a star-shaped board. Move your pieces wisely, hop over others, and race to the opposite side. It’s simple, engaging, and full of fun!
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