Objective of the Game

Halma is a strategy game where the goal is to move all your pieces from the starting area to the target area on the opposite side of the board.

Game Components

• A square or star-shaped board with 16x16 squares (for the square variant) or a star-shaped board with 121 spaces (for the star-shaped variant).
• A specific number of pieces per player: 19 for two players in the square variant or 10 for six players in the star-shaped variant.
• The star-shaped variant, also known as "Chinese Checkers", typically contains pieces in six different colors.

Number of Players

• Square variant: For 2 or 4 players.
• Star-shaped variant: For 2 to 6 players.

Rules of the Game

1. Setting Up Pieces: Each player starts with their pieces in their home base located at a corner of the board.

2. Types of Moves:

3. Simple Move: A piece can move to an adjacent, unoccupied square in any direction (forwards, backwards, sideways, or diagonally).

4. Jumping: A piece can "jump" over one or more adjacent pieces (of any player), landing on a vacant square directly beyond each piece. Multiple jumps in one turn are allowed if possible. The jumped pieces remain in place.

5. Winning the Game: The first player to move all of their pieces into the opposite home base wins the game.

6. Strategic Tips:

7. Planning Ahead: Try to plan several moves ahead and create chains of jumps to advance pieces quickly.
8. Blocking Opponents: Use strategically placed pieces to impede your opponent’s progress or block planned jumps.
9. Utilizing Common Paths in Multiplayers: Sometimes it helps to leverage the movements of other players to advance your pieces.

Special Features

• Halma offers ample room for strategic play while keeping the basic rules simple.
• Unlike many other board games, moves in Halma often form long chains, leading to unexpectedly rapid gameplay when optimal strategies are pursued.