If you are not in the mood for the deep thinking required of other games, Chinese Checkers may be the game for you. This is a board game originally derived from Halma, in which you attempt to move all your marbles into your opponent's area before they can move into yours, can be played with up to six players and learned in a minimum amount of time, making it a great game for all ages.

Play is simple. Move your marbles one space at a time in any of the six available directions. Jump your own or your opponents marbles if there is a space open after that marble and within the same line. You can also jump multiple times if there is sufficient space available between the marbles (like a double jump in checkers), even changing directions between jumps, for as many jumps as possible and desired. Get all of your marbles into your opponent's triangle area first, and you win the game.

Choose your first move carefully. Just as in other strategic games, your opening moves are a very important part of winning the game. A good start can make the difference between quickly advancing your marbles across the board or struggling in your own corner. Make your initial moves to allow freedom of movement for the remainder of the marbles that are lined up behind it.

Chinese Checkers is all about the number of moves it takes to place all your marbles in your opponents triangle. You will likely want to keep your pieces near the center of the board to cut down on the number of moves you need to win. Allowing one or two marbles to stray to the side provides a chance they will become stranded. If this happens, you will end up wasting extra moves getting your pieces to their goal. Be sure to keep an eye on your marble that is furthest from the goal too. You never want to let this piece get too far behind. Otherwise, just like your marbles that strayed to the side, you may waste time and moves getting that lagging marble to the goal.

The one thing you need to keep mind with Chinese Checkers is to always plan ahead. An experienced player will always be looking for future multiple jump opportunities. Those are key to winning this game. If you see your opponent moving in a certain direction, you should plan ways to take advantage of it. Get a multiple jump here or there and you will soon find you're way ahead of the game. Also, while your goal is to get your marbles as far as possible, it is not always a good idea if you can block your opponent's jumps long enough to advance yourself further. Always plan ahead, looking for ways to take advantage of your opponent and that's going to make you a better Chinese Checker player.

It may help to know that on GoldToken, if a player is prevented from moving his marble into a hole in the destination triangle because of the presence of an opposing marble in that hole, the player is entitled to swap the opposing piece with that of his own as long as it's a legal move as noted above. Knowing the opposing marble will land on the last hole your piece jumped from creates all sorts of strategical possibilities! Jumping on your opponent from the innermost corner after placing your other marbles around it, prevents them from easily getting out, for example.

And last but not least, remember to The crucial rule to playing any game!