Two-Player Chinese Checkers Setup: A Printable Board Guide

Choose two opposite triangles and count ten pieces each

For the two-player Chinese checkers setup used here, fill two opposite triangular points with ten pieces per player. Each player aims to move all ten into the other player’s starting triangle. Two adjacent points are not the paired starts shown in this guide.

Masters Traditional Games describes a six-pointed star, ten holes in each triangular point, and two players starting from opposing triangles. Its friendly-play instructions also allow several conventions for unused triangles. [1] This worksheet follows its suggested empty unused triangles option: the other four points begin empty and can be used along the route.

On your own set, select an opposite pair whose colours match your two piece sets. The diagram uses Red at the top and Blue at the bottom for clarity; rotating the whole board does not change the relationship. If your set specifies a different piece count or arrangement, use its instructions rather than forcing this ten-piece sheet onto it.

Print the full board and read its row labels

Download the three-page printable board guide (PDF): the starting board, the board after Red’s first step, and the board after Blue’s reply. Print the first page alone for a setup reference, or keep all three beside a physical set. The vector PDF is formatted on A4; choose portrait and fit-to-page on Letter if needed. Mark a paper copy with a pencil instead of expecting the printed holes to fit your marbles.

On a narrow screen, scroll each board sideways to read all its hole labels. The PDF shows the full board for printing.

The original board has 121 holes: a 61-hole central hexagon and six ten-hole triangular points. These counts are calculated from the drawn lattice, not separate playing rules. With two sets of ten, 20 holes are occupied and 101 are empty at the start.

Our labels identify exact holes for the examples. Rows run 01 at the top to 17 at the bottom; letters begin at A on the left of each row. Thus 04B is the second hole from the left in row 04. The longer row 05 starts farther left: its 05G is the seventh hole of that row. Equal letters in different rows do not necessarily form a straight line.

Follow the drawn lattice lines to find neighbours. R and B inside occupied holes identify the colours even on a monochrome print. These labels are specific to this worksheet and are independent of the local A–G labels in the ten-position jump practice sheet.

Check the setup before deciding who starts

Count each triangle from its outer tip toward the centre: one, two, three, then four pieces. The top tip is 01A; the bottom tip is 17A. Both tips must be filled. Starting with only the three wider rows leaves nine pieces and changes the task.

Choose the first player fairly; the reference uses a coin toss. [1] In the examples below, Red starts, then Blue replies. Colour does not inherently give the first turn. Keep the spare pieces off the board in this version.

Before a full game, write down how your set handles unused triangles, leaving a destination triangle and a blocked destination. That takes less effort than trying to settle a rule after one player is close to winning.

Turn 1: Red makes one adjacent step from 04B to 05G

From the complete starting position, move Red’s piece at 04B to 05G. These holes share a drawn edge. 05G is empty, so this is an adjacent step. It crosses no bridge and ends Red’s turn.

In the second diagram, 04B is now empty and 05G is red. Every other piece stays where it began. Red still has ten pieces, including the three other pieces in row 04. Red cannot add a hop or move a second piece as part of this step.

This is a legal teaching choice, not a claim that it is the strongest opening. Its purpose is to make a one-edge step and the changed occupancy visible. Compare the before and after boards instead of inferring a route from notation alone.

Turn 2: Blue hops from 15B over 14C to 13H

Using the board after Red’s step, Blue can move 15B to 13H over 14C. 14C holds an adjacent blue piece. 13H is the empty hole immediately beyond it on the same line. That satisfies the ordinary hop pattern.

In the third diagram, Blue’s moving piece has left 15B and occupies 13H. The blue bridge at 14C remains. Red’s piece stays at 05G. There are still ten pieces of each colour; a hop is not a capture.

Blue may finish after this legal hop. These two moves are original examples constructed from the full setup; they are not a copied match, a forced sequence or evidence of an opening advantage. On a later turn, an ordinary jumping chain still uses the same moving piece and checks every new bridge and landing.

Keep unused-point and destination rules consistent

The source explicitly distinguishes ordinary adjacent-piece hops from Super Chinese Checkers, which allows longer balanced jumps. [1] The openings in this guide use ordinary hops only. A distant piece on a visual line is not automatically an adjacent bridge.

Our opening version leaves unused points empty and usable. A set that instead fills unused points with spare pieces changes both occupancy and possible routes; do not add those pieces halfway through this worksheet. The reference also keeps a piece inside its own destination triangle once it arrives. Follow that convention here; the opening examples do not yet enter a destination.

Destination blocking needs a separate agreed rule. Masters describes several approaches and proposes an anti-spoiling swap when an opponent prevents completion. That specific proposal is not an ordinary capture or general permission to land on occupied holes. If your set has a printed convention, use it; otherwise settle one before a full game. This setup sheet does not claim a universal tournament rule or test the endgame exception.

Download the exact occupied-hole lists, moves and setup checklist (TXT). Use them beside the diagrams when comparing positions. The beginner rules and strategy guide gives wider context; the jump exercises isolate bridge, landing and same-piece mistakes.

Six checks before your first game

Answer using the specific version and board stage named in each question. These checks cover opposite starts, counting, turn completion, vacated bridges, retained pieces and a rule that must be agreed.