Rules

1. Each jump needs two neighbouring pegs in a straight line and an empty hole immediately beyond them. The jumped peg is removed; every jump reduces the count by one.
2. On square grids, jump horizontally or vertically. On the triangle, use any of the six directions parallel to its three sides. A diagonal on a square grid is never legal.
3. The star marks the required finishing hole. One peg somewhere else is a different result, not a win in this target puzzle. You can undo a jump and explore a different route.
4. Our counter records individual jumps. Mathematical books sometimes group several jumps by the same peg into one “move”; those totals are not comparable.

Learn

Keep pegs connected. Clearing an outer arm too early can strand a peg with no neighbour to jump over. Look at the whole board before choosing the next jump.

Think backwards from the target: which last pair could feed the final hole? Practise short endings first, then use the replay to see how a full solution builds those endings.

All boards

English cross — The 33-hole English cross has rows of 3, 3, 7, 7, 7, 3, 3. Empty d4 and finish at d4 in 31 jumps. This is the classic central game.

European — The 37-hole European board adds four holes to the English shape. Our solvable opening empties c1 and finishes at e1 in 35 jumps. A d4 vacancy cannot finish with a single peg anywhere.

Triangle — The 15-hole triangle has five rows, from one to five holes. Empty a1 and return the survivor to a1 in 13 jumps. Use all six lattice directions. The b3 complement and a1-to-b3 target are impossible.

Diamond — The 41-hole diamond has rows of 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 7, 5, 3, 1. Empty d2 and finish at f2 in 39 jumps. Do not confuse it with the 32-hole diamond. The centre complement is impossible.

Wiegleb — Wiegleb’s 45-hole cross extends each arm by one row. Empty e5 and finish at e5 in 43 jumps. Unlike the central game, an e1-to-e1 complement is impossible.

Square — The square board has 36 holes in a 6×6 grid. Empty c3 and return to c3 in 34 jumps. It has four middle holes and no unique centre; diagonal jumps are not allowed.