Hard Chinese checkers
Hard Chinese checkers is a deeper search on the same Sternhalma rules as Chinese checkers. One ply further than Medium, not a different game and not a claim of solved play.
No captures. Chain jumps stay optional. A marble that reaches your goal point still cannot leave it.
Chinese checkers rules against Hard
Move all ten of your marbles from the south point of the star into the opposite point at the north. There is no capturing — a jumped marble stays on the board.
- Step one hole in any of six directions onto an empty neighbor, or hop over one adjacent marble to the empty hole directly beyond it.
- A single turn may chain several hops, even changing direction between hops — you choose how far the chain runs.
- Once a marble reaches your goal point, it may only move within that point, not back out.
What the Hard opponent searches
The Hard opponent searches one ply deeper, at alpha-beta depth about 4, using the same move ordering as Medium.
The evaluation rewards marbles closer to the goal point, marbles already home, and clusters of marbles that can hop each other — there is no material count to weigh, since nothing is ever captured.
It reads one move further than Medium on the same board — sharper in the middlegame, but still a fixed-depth engine, not a solved race.
Racing drills on Hard
Longer ladders win the depth race
Hard reads one move further than Medium. A hopping ladder that only shows its full value five turns out is where it starts to catch up with your planning.
Cluster marbles for jump options
A group of your own marbles gives every piece in it more ways to hop. Hard's evaluation rewards this too — spread clusters across the board rather than one big clump.
Finish, don't sprint
One marble reaching the goal first does not matter if the other nine are still at the start. Hard advances its whole army — count your slowest marble, not your fastest.
Chinese checkers difficulty levels compared
| Level | Best for | Search | Typical gap | Practice focus |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Easy | Learning hops and chain jumps | greedy evaluation + randomness (no search tree) | Picks its best single move with no lookahead; ignores your reply entirely | Practice chaining two or three hops in one turn before you race |
| Medium | The default Chinese checkers opponent | alpha-beta depth ≈ 3 | Plans a few moves ahead but still misses long hopping ladders | Build a ladder of your own marbles to cross the board in fewer turns |
| Hard (this page) | A faster-racing computer opponent | alpha-beta depth ≈ 4 | Searches one ply deeper than Medium — still a fixed-depth browser engine | Keep the hole beyond your next hop clear before you commit to a chain |
Need a refresher on the basics? Read the complete Chinese Checkers guide and rules on Checkerso for star-board navigation, chain-jump mechanics, and goal-point rules.
Frequently asked questions
How deep does Hard Chinese checkers search?
Alpha-beta depth about 4 with move ordering that checks likely chain jumps first — one ply deeper than Medium's depth about 3.
Is Hard Chinese checkers unbeatable?
No. It is the strongest setting offered here, but it is a fixed-depth browser opponent, not a solved endgame database.
Does the goal-zone lock ever cost the computer a game?
It can. Once a computer marble sits in its goal point, it may not move back out even to make room — planning around that lock is one of the few things separating Hard from Medium.