Archive for category Chinese Checkers
Chinese Checker Variations
Posted by oscar in Board Games, Chinese Checkers on January 12th, 2009
Bruce Whitehill stated that in order to have a variation of a specific game, the modified game must in turn satisfy two criteria in order to have a successful variation to the original game:
1) a player’s pieces are required to finish in the starting space of the opposing player; and
2) piece movement includes the allowance for jumping all pieces, including a players own as well as an opponent’s, without any pieces being removed from play.
Some of the accepted and recorded variations of the Chinese Checkers include Eckha.
Eckha
It is a slight modification of Halma introduced by Milton Bradley in 1889 in order to have some distractions after losing the battle they are in.
Meanwhile, Konrad Büttgenbach from Düsseldorf, Germany invented in 1899 a variation of the Chinese Checkers which he called Salta. It is played by to players with the use of square board with 10×10 spaces with fifteen pieces each.
It has all the movements in the original version of Halma. The only difference is that all the pieces used in the game are given their own identity. The ultimate goal is to put all the pieces at exactly the same spot on the place where its counterpart is placed in the opponent’s side.
The term Salta is derived from Latin word which literally means ‘Jump’. With its variant called Pyramid, Salta was one among the board games that is loved by the people before World War One.
On the other hand, Hong Kong is a variant of Chinese Checkers that uses different types of pieces invented by Kentheon Corporation in sometime 1950 to 1956.
Hong Kong
It is different to the latter in a way since it has a scoring system where the score depends on the pieces that are successfully placed in the finishing spots with designated scores on it.
Telka is four-player game here each player is given twelve pieces each of stones.
Telka
It is best and enjoyable to be played with partners since there are sections that opponent’s pieces are removed when jumping across or over.
These sections are called “Danger territory” which can be found in the middle of the board. Meanwhile, the front of the home area of each player is the safe zone in the board game. and in the middle of the board there is a “Danger Territory”.
The player or partners will win the game when the three pieces of the player or partners are successfully transported the opponents finish area. This variation of the Chinese Checkers game was made by Parker Brothers in 1938.
Troke, meanwhile, is played by players whom are given four pieces each that are called “castles.”
Troke
These castles were divided into three sections which include the moat, the wall and the tower that moved freely and independently except when captured.
The only piece that can capture is the one different to the others pieces like the moat capturing the wall and vice versa. Meanwhile, when the piece captured the other, the capturing piece will move the entire are depending on the captured pieces of the said piece.
Introduction to Chinese Checkers for Beginners
Posted by oscar in Board Games, Chinese Checkers on January 12th, 2009
For beginners, Chinese Checkers can be a lot confusing and difficult but is rather easy as compared to playing checkers and chess for first time.
In order to introduce the player to the game, one must acknowledge the fact that the Chinese Checkers is played in a rather enjoyable manner rather than a stiff and mechanical way.
General tips for beginners are so much of a need at a time like this.
Firstly, having a game plan will be very effective to ensure that the player will win the game. Strategizing and thinking of different techniques side by side with the proper understanding of the rules of the game will most likely solve the problem—so much for the beginner’s luck.
Next, moving and playing one checker at a time is effective, and then moving the other pieces in the same direction as the first moved piece. After moving all your pieces, make sure that all of them move toward the center of the playing board aiming toward the opposite triangle.
For the next step, utilize multiple jumping in order to reach the destination one piece at a time. Utilize also the pieces of your opponent and your pieces to make the jumping over as easy as possible. Use multiple jumps to get you across using your checkers and the other players’ checkers to further your jumps.
Now, you can race across the board against the moves of your opponents and ensure that your pieces get across the opposite triangle first.
For the next step, start moving your first checker into and back to the triangle. By doing so and memorizing quickly the process, you can now transfer all of your pieces first to win the game.
Note that not only the basic steps that the player must know but also some hints since you are playing with a real and thinking opponent rather than a passive object. General hints are necessary in order to effectively move your pieces and transfer them completely to the other side of the triangle.
First, the player should establish a mental setting that he or she must get to the other side a far as possible. While this is an effective way to transfer all your pieces, fair strategizing will lead you to decide whether to transport and jump over and across or use your piece to block your opponents’ pieces. Blocking the opponents is an advantage since there are instances that his or her strategy is better than yours.
It is advisable to keep all the moves of your pieces near or at a center line since the idea of transporting the pieces must include all of the ten pieces. Otherwise, there will come a move that one or two of your pieces are stuck and block away toward the finishing side.
In addition, most of the pieces of the opponents and yours are situated in the center rather than in the side and edges. It is a very good advantage since it allows you to move your pieces freely and saves you from any unnecessary and wasteful moves.
Recent Updates on Chinese Checkers
Posted by oscar in Board Games, Chinese Checkers on January 12th, 2009
Nowadays, the most recent development as regard the popularity of the Chinese Checkers board game is that it is no longer strictly limited to board alone.
Many of the Internet sites mushroomed and proliferated in order to give the players the chance to play the game, either for free or otherwise, even without the board or the marbles and pegs. The hassles of losing a marble and moving over and jumping across the board are now becoming unpopular because of these many internet gaming sites.
Meanwhile, there are still who finds the board and marble appealing that most of the manufactures and companies continuously modify the game. Some of these are modified to suit the needs and interests of most of the players interested in the Chinese Checkers game.
A very recent variant of Halma, called Top Secret let each player drops in turns their 18 stones. The board used in the game is the central 6×6 square area of the 16×16 board where the stones are to be placed. The modification comes with the goal of removing all stones moving and jumping over the board when all of these stones of the players have been dropped down.
In addition to the updates about the game, Dominique Huguenin and Yves Chédel introduced the game of Le Grec where the rules are posted in the Internet are as follows:
1. Move one friendly stone (orthogonal or diagonal) to an empty cell, or jump over an enemy stone (no jumps over friendly stones) landing on the immediate next cell. Every move/jump must be forwards or sideways never backwards.
(2) Wins the player that moves his stones to the last two rows.
Meanwhile, Renpaardenis introduced by playing on a 9×9 square board where both players start the game with the first two rows they have filled with friendly stones totaled to 18 stones for every player. Like the knights present in the game of chess, the stones are move by players in two possible ways.
First move is to place the stones to the empty spaces available that eventually ending the turn of the player. On the other hand, moving the stone to a square where the opponent has its own pieces consequently gives another jump for the stone.
Similar to the Chinese Checkers, the board game has no capturing or taking of pieces and winning can be achieved at the time that all the player’s stones are completely transferred to the opposite side of the board.
Moreover, another modification of the Chinese Checkers includes Le Zug that can be played using a 17×17 board. The game uses stones that are moved by payers diagonally forward and can jump diagonally over stones of either color.
The same as the rules in the Chinese Checkers, all the jumps that are made by the player can be single or multiple and are not mandatory. There is an additional diagonal step for the stone that jumps across whether in single or multiple spaces.
The modification comes with the rule that all steps that can be made by the pieces must be forward allowing no movement backwards. The player owns the first four rows of each side which is also called a camp. Similarly, the player cannot move his or her on pieces into the enemy camp when there are still available and vacant friendly pieces.
The game is won at the time that the player successfully occupies the last row, and places his or her remaining three stones at the remaining row. L. Lynn Smith stated that the game is actually the combination of French and German words respectively that literally means “The Course”.
Frequently Asked Questions
Posted by oscar in Board Games, Chinese Checkers on January 12th, 2009
In the middle of the game, there are some situations can neither move or remove his or her pieces maybe because it is being blocked by another player’s pieces or it is simply stuck in the lone corners of the Chinese Checker board. With this difficulty and problem on hand, most of the players will find it difficult to move their pieces as the rules say and even tougher to win the game.
This is a common question that the experts and master gamers wanted to solve by suggesting and adding practical rule in the game that would be wide enough to cover any untoward and unforeseen situations.
As a response to most common and frequent questions concerning this, Master Gamer website posted this rule: If a player is prevented from moving a peg into a hole in the destination triangle because of the presence of an opposing peg in that hole, then instead of playing in the usual way, the player is entitled to swap the opposing peg with that of his own peg.
That is to put simply, the alternative way to the dilemma is to continue the game until one or more of other players’ holes no longer hold any piece belonging to other players. Since the objective of the game is for a player to successfully and completely transport all of his or her peg to the other side of the triangle, being stuck or blocked does not mean end of the game.
Although not immediately related to the coarse of playing the game of Chinese Checkers, most of the players who became interested in playing the said game asked why Halma is most preferred and played in European countries, especially in Germany rather than the American-hailed Chinese Checkers.
Meanwhile, there are some places where Halma disappeared in practice and replaced rather by Chinese Checkers. These are interesting questions that most likely asked by players that are much related to the naming of the games themselves.
Some of the Internet sites explained that there are some instances that Chinese Checkers and Halma are both terms used interchangeably especially in Germany. And since Halma originated from Germany, the patronage over it is deeper and widespread rather than American-modified Chinese Checkers.
In addition, there are many of the Internet gaming sites offering Chinese Checkers coming from Germany are tagged and named as Halma.
Many of the experts and intellectual researchers studying the symbolism and deeper history of Chinese Checkers debunked all of the notions circling and circumventing around the said board game.
According to Bruce Whitehill, Halma has never been known or tagged as Hoppity as David Parlett claimed in his entry in the Oxford History of Board Games in 1999, in the hopes of reaching effectively the interests of the ‘classically uneducated market.’
Another notion that is still unverified is the idea that the Chinese Checkers Game is also called ‘Tiao4 Qi2′ or ‘Tiau-qi’ which literally means in English as Jump Chess, Jumping Chess or ‘the jumping-game’ in China.
In addition, the mysticism revolving around its triangle-consisted stars that concerns about the relationship of the Star of David of Judaism into the six-pointed stars of Chinese Checkers.
So as the unverified researches as regard the relationship of the board game to the star embedded in the flags of China since it is in no way originated from China or is a checkers in itself, as Fraught argued.
Terms and Terminologies
Posted by oscar in Board Games, Chinese Checkers on January 12th, 2009
In order to be an expert or at least experienced in playing the Chinese Checkers game, it is necessary that the player should know the terminologies usually used when playing the game. The Chinese Checkers consists of the following materials such as the playing board.
The board that will be used is a star-shaped and six-pointed one with every of its point a triangle with ten holes. These six triangles have designated and different colors and has ten holes, on its side are situated the four of the holes. The shape of the interior of the board is hexagonal with each of its sides having five holes.
Other materials that should be present in playing the game are the marbles or pegs. The There are six sets of marbles or pegs.
Every set should have the required ten marbles or pegs bearing different colors designated to the specific colors in the board. Since the pegs are less likely movable when the board is accidentally bumped, most of the players prefer it over the marble.
After identifying the necessary materials, the player should know how to set-up the game area. The game can accommodate at most six players simultaneously where every player must choose their preferred color of pegs, and placing it to the triangles in the board of the same color.
It must be decided first how many players will be included in the game in order to identify the set-up and placing of the game. When there are only two players, they have to utilize and move in one of the opposite triangles. However, a longer game decided by the players can use up to two to three sets of triangles for both players.
When the competitors are three, every player shall move to the opposite triangle inside the board, likewise they are allowed to use two sets of triangle inside the board when the players decided for a longer game. For four players, the two pairs of opposing triangles are used where all the players aim to move all their marbles to the direction toward the opposite triangle.
Meanwhile, five players can also be accommodated by placing the four players on the area similar to the set-up for four players while putting the fifth person in one of the vacant triangles.
Lastly, six players are allowed in the game where all of them will occupy the six triangles on the board and will aim to move their pieces toward the direction of the opposite triangle.
One of the interesting features of the game aside from moving is the ability to hop across many spaces by jumping over the player’s or others’ pegs. The standard jumps can consists of multiple hopping given that every hop is immediately adjacent.
For most instances, the rule allows the player to move his or her pegs to be placed into an empty corner during the series of hops but must hop out again before the move is over.
Apparently, a peg is not allowed to jump over two marbles in a single hop whenever there is no available adjacent space.
Tips and Strategies for Chinese Checkers
Posted by oscar in Board Games, Chinese Checkers on January 12th, 2009
Chinese Checkers is not really as difficult and strategic as other board games like chess or checkers. However, it is not a not a game of luck that the player should think of many possible ways to strategize and apply techniques in order to win the game.
Here, the moves should be perfectly or at least fairly thought since the outcome of the game greatly depends on the players move. For instance, advancing the marbles will be very easy if the opening move of the player I fairly done.
Since the objective of the game is to first reach the opposite side of the triangle with the player’s designated ten pegs, the idea of opening the moves better than the other players is a great plan.
There are notably few openings to start with that is common to players of Chinese Checkers. However, there are still 14 possible first moves unexplored that must be learned in order to identify the other moves of the player.
Meanwhile, these moves will be decreased into seven when the player will not consider the other symmetrical moves. More often than not, experts and players with enough experience of playing the game use only two opening moves:
1. The most common first move so far is by moving either of the two player’s marbles on the end of the front row forward the four marbles one space at a time or by simply moving either one towards the center. These two most common first moves are called “sidewinder” and “cross caterpillar” respectively. However, there are still unexplored and less common first move openings.
2. On the other hand, the much less common first move opening that is used by professional players is by moving one of the pegs in a space forward that is away from the centerline. Such less common move is called “Squad’s opening” as well as other similar moves.
Another criterion that must be first considered in strategizing by a player is the moving and jumping throughout the course of the Chinese Checkers game.
In moving, the player is allowed to forward his or her peg one adjacent space at a time. The second move that should be learned by player can be done by hopping towards an adjacent marble to the space directly past the said peg. The player is also allowed to take as many moving and consecutive jumping as the situation is allowed and possible.
The player can move any of his or her own marbles in his or her preferred possible directions and can likewise jump over any marble of either his or her designated color or not.
The rules of the Chinese Checkers is a lot more different to checkers since the players in the former jump over the pegs of the other players rather than capturing and taking it. Apparently, any peg that is jumped over by another player’s peg remained still and perfectly usable inside the board game.
This is because the game’s rules designed that no peg is eliminated but rather transported in the opposite direction during the game. Once a the player successfully place all his or her ten pegs to the opposite triangle, the rules stated that it can never be removed or moved outside the triangle, but rather only inside it.
Chinese Checkers Book Reviews
Posted by oscar in Board Games, Chinese Checkers on January 12th, 2009
One of the most important books ever written concerning the board game Chinese Checkers include Mexican Writer Mario Bellatin’s Chinese Checkers, A Trio of Fictions with Photographs published in 1994 by Ravenna Press in Edmonds, Washington.
It was then later comprehensively reviewed by Norman Lock including symbol attached to it and the culture that sponsored the creation and adoration of and to the game.
According to him, the text is dedicated to study the exposition of any of the mysteries circumventing the symbols present in the game.
Lock decidedly stated that the significance of the book can be find “[b]y a study of its symbols…There appear to be several of significance in this, the eponymous fiction of a collection appearing for the first time in English.”
The game is by far more significant than checkers, chess, or other board games, he stated, since the Chinese Checkers involves “..the solitary pursuit of an end, which is to advance one’s own pieces across a field mined with the enemy’s – or enemies’, for Chinese checkers can be played by six.” The idea of Chinese Checkers’ noble intention can be best recognized in lock’s argument in the following sentences:
Unlike similarly constituted games, winning is not achieved by the elimination of an opponent’s pieces but by shepherding all one’s own safely across the field.
The haven to which one strives to bring his pieces home is a mirror image of his starting point. Hunting down one’s opponent, as well as strategy, is not at issue where chance and self-consciousness are the determinants of success.
The book reflected a lot of critical situation where the intent to propose the game of Chinese Checkers is considered madness. All the characters involved in the book except the boy, is described askew.
Further, lock considered the story as describing the game as “…a symbol rich in overtones of derangement resulting from neglect by others, a nearly aseptic disengagement from others, a disturbing emotional neutrality, or illness.
Impassivity is overwhelmingly evident in the man and to a lesser extent in other characters (again, with the exception of the boy, who is their foil).”
He further mentioned that the Chinese checkers holds the idea and essence of post modernism where writing is considered a “game and an acrypha” explaining that superficial and deep meanings of the symbols that can be attached to the game.
He added that since the game is neither Chinese nor checkers, the falseness to map and describe the real world is magnified. In order to better understand the process by which the inventor of the invented the game is to see fully the underlying cultures and aspirations of the people during the time. As argued by Lock, one may write stories in the same way one plays Chinese checkers: to pass the time or, helplessly, because one must.
A final observation concerning the game is pertinent: Chinese checkers allows for multiple players (and viewpoints), as I already have noted. Although solitary, each player moves according the dictates of desire and with minimal engagement.
The idea of the noble intention of the game is further reinforced since the rules designed that the players must jump over their opponents in order to win rather than capturing or taking their pieces.
Rules of the Game
Posted by oscar in Board Games, Chinese Checkers on January 12th, 2009
Chinese Checkers
In order for us to better understand the game and, hopefully play it right and intelligently, let us first describe all of its features and the materials needed in the game.
The Chinese Checkers board has the shape of a six-pointed star where each point of the star consists of a triangle with ten holes, which are then consist four holes in every side.
Further, the interior is hexagon-shaped with every side consisting of five holes long. There are different colors in each of the triangle with six sets of ten pegs also with corresponding colors.
The objective of the game is simple: The player who first successfully moves all of his or her ten pegs across the direction of the opposite triangle wins.
Chinese Checkers can accommodate two, three, four or six players where all the pegs and triangles were used up when played by six persons.
On the other hand, the game starts in two pairs of opposing triangles when there are four players and likewise when two players compete in the game.
Meanwhile, the three-player game will start from the three triangles with the same distance to each other. The game starts by choosing the color for the player as well as the ten marbles situated appropriately in its designated color-coded triangle.
A toss of a coin can be done to determine which player will be the first to move otherwise the players can use other fair methods they want. In the game, all the players have their own turn in moving their own peg of their designated color.
There are two ways to move the peg in one turn; first is by simply moving it across the adjacent hole, and second, it may take one or many hops over the other pegs. When the latter move is done by the player, each hop should be done on the adjacent and pegs and should be placed on the vacant hole or holes directly beyond it.
Every hop can be done over differently-colored balls including the designated color of the player proceeding to any of the six directions. After every hop made, the player may proceed winning the game or wish to continue hopping over another peg whenever possible.
There are some chances that, a player can actually move his or her peg from starting position jumping across the board until it finishes off to the opposite triangle in one turn.
One must be reminded that the pegs can never be removed from the board. The only allowable move is by moving the peg across any of the holes situated in the board and triangles owned by other players.
Conversely, the peg that reached the opposite triangle van never be removed except when moved inside of the triangle.
This game actually needs a lot of fair strategizing since the method of transporting all the peg to the opposite triangle is though. When the player successfully transported all his or er peg to the opposite triangle, he or she wins the game.
1. History and General Introduction
Posted by oscar in Board Games, Chinese Checkers on January 12th, 2009
Originally, the first Chinese Checkers was called Hop Ching Checkers, Star Checkers, and many other names when it was introduced in the U.S. in 1928.
Based from old German past time called Stern-Halma, it was later renamed as Chinese Checkers in response to the increasing interests of Americans on Oriental culture during that time. However, Chinese Checkers is less appealing and is otherwise called Halma in many of European countries.
During the1930s when the craze for Chinese Checkers was too much overwhelming, many manufacturers started to make and introduce their own versions of the game. Despite being called for many names, it was generally coined as Chinese Checkers since there were no original manufacturers who owned the patent to the game.
Despite the known date of the game’s arrival to the United States, sources of information recorded different companies and manufacturers that claimed to be the first manufacturers and owners of the right to distribute Chinese Checkers.
It is said that the L.G. Ballard, a Topeka manufacturer first grabbed these overwhelming American interests and introduced its own version of the game tagged as “Star Checkers.”
The success reverberated throughout the continent that by only ten years, the Ballard Manufacturing Company of Topeka was shipping an incredible 15,000 Star Checkers games every month.
It also included 500,000 to 700,000 marbles to be transported to stores nationwide, preparing and producing 4,000 sets everyday to satisfy the high order demands, and employing several workers to count out the marbles for each game.
Meanwhile, some argue that Pressman Company was the first to legally publish its own version of the board game. Another, the Ravensburger, the famed German game company was recorded to first modified the square Halma board into Stern-Halma, a six-pointed star board.
The company under Otto Robert Maier published and patented the game under the name Stern-Halma, stern meaning star in English and Greek Halma meaning jumping in English.
Several and later manufacturers like Bradley Company were also said to patent the right to manufacture and distribute the game in 1941, thirteen years after it was introduced to America.
So what really is Chinese Checkers? As it was noted earlier to be the simplified variation of European board game Halma, Chinese checkers was not a new game. Many people believe that the Chinese Checkers originated from China or from other parts of Asia.
However, the assumptions were merely based from the fact that the game was widely popularized in nay of Chinese-speaking regions. Furthermore, the game is in no way related or a variation of checkers.
Chinese Checkers is a pitted six-sided star and a strategy board game composed with 121 marble slots. It can accommodate two to six players where the competitors were given ten marbles each situated in the hole of the player’s designated section or side.
In order to win the game, a player should intelligently strategize on how to move his or her marble game pieces from their original position up to the opposite area of the board. Players can do this by moving the marbles one place at a time or by jump to other competitor’s marbles.
Oscar
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