Chinese Checkers

Chinese Checkers was invented in Germany in 1892 and it's derived from the game of Halma (1883). Chinese Checkers is not from China and it really has nothing to do with the game Checkers.

The first game of Chinese Checkers was published and patented by the German game company Ravensburger (Otto Robert Maier) under the name Stern-Halma (stern means star in English; Star-Halma) in 1892. Spears & Sons introduced the star board to England in 1909.

The first Chinese Checkers game to be published in the United States was 'Hop Ching Checkers' in 1928 by J. Pressman & Co. This was the same game as the 1892 Star-Halma. The brothers Bill and Jack Pressman made up the name 'Chinese Checkers' around 1928. The game was given a Chinese name and theme in keeping with the current interest in all things oriental (among them the discovery of King Tut's tomb in 1922 and the 'mah jongg' game that was introduced in 1923).

In the 1930s a craze for Chinese Checkers swept across America. Several other manufactures started to make the game. Many were given other names; but since no one seemed to own the rights to the name; many were just called Chinese Checkers. The Milton Bradley Company got a patent on Chinese Checkers thirteen years later (1941).

Players jump over their own and their opponents' pieces with the objective of being the first to move all their pieces from one side to the opposing side.