How to play Star Checkers

Star Checkers is a race for two to six players on a board shaped like a six-pointed star, with 121 holes. Each player starts with ten marbles in one point of the star. The goal is to move all ten into the point straight across. The first player to fill it wins. You will know it as the marble game with the star from many family game closets.

Who sits where

• Two players start in opposite points.
• Three players take every other point, so each one races toward an empty point.
• Four players use two pairs of opposite points. Six players fill the whole star.
• You always play Red, at the bottom, and you move first. The others follow around the star.

A move: step or hop

• Step: move one marble into an empty hole right next to it, in any of the six directions.
• Hop: jump one marble over a single marble beside it, yours or anyone else's, into the empty hole directly behind, in a straight line. Nothing is captured.
• Keep hopping: after a hop, you may hop again from where you landed, as many times as the holes allow, and stop wherever you like. A string of hops can carry a marble across most of the board.
• A step and a hop do not mix: one step, or a chain of hops, never both in the same turn. You may not skip your turn while you have a move.
• To play here, tap a marble. The holes where it can go start to glow. Tap one of them and the marble takes the hops for you. On a computer, point at a glowing hole to see the path.

Winning

The first player with all ten marbles in the point across wins, and the game ends there. If another player leaves a marble sitting in your point, it cannot keep you out: once every hole of that point is filled and at least one of the marbles is yours, you win. In a long game with many players, if nobody has finished after 200 moves each, the player with the most marbles home wins.

Tips

1. Build ladders. Marbles spaced one hole apart in a line make a ladder that a back marble can climb in one turn. Set one up early.
2. Borrow your opponents' marbles. Any marble is a stepping stone. Look for long chains that run over theirs.
3. Do not leave a ladder for them. The same lines work for everybody. Before a move, check what it opens for the next player.
4. Bring the stragglers. The race is decided by your last marble. A marble left behind at the end crawls home one step at a time.
5. Fill from the tip. Send your first marbles deep into the far point, so the last ones still find open holes near the front.

Today's opening

The Daily Opening starts everyone from the same position: two moves for each side are already on the board, and you race the same computer player as everyone else, head to head. Winning in fewer moves is better, and you can see how you compare. Your first try of the day is the one that counts.

Questions

Is this the game with the star and the marbles? Yes. It is the same board and the same rules. Despite the old name on many boxes, the game comes from Germany, not China, and grew out of an older game played on a square board.

Can I hop over my own marbles? Yes. Any marble can be hopped, yours or anyone else's, and nothing is ever removed from the board.

Can I stop halfway through a chain of hops? Yes. Tap any glowing hole along the way and the marble stops there.

Can my marbles pass through other points? Yes. Marbles may move through or stop in any point of the star.

How strong is the computer? Easy moves toward home but misses ladders and often wanders. Normal always takes the move that gets it furthest. Sharp also looks a move ahead for ladders, and against one opponent it avoids leaving a ladder for you.

Can friends play on one phone? Yes. Choose "Friends on one device", pick two, three, four or six players, and pass the phone around.

Do I need an account? No. Your game is saved in this browser, so you can close the page and come back.