How to play › BOARD & CARDS
STAR HOPS
Star Hops is Chinese checkers on a lamplit star of carved slate. Race your ten marbles to the point opposite your own before the regulars at the Lantern Inn get theirs home.
PLAY NOW ▶The goal
Move all ten of your marbles into the point of the star directly opposite where they start. You are home when every hole of that point is full and at least one of the marbles in it is yours, so a marble left behind to block you blocks nothing.
How a race plays
On your turn, either step one marble to a neighbouring hole, or hop it over any marble (yours or anyone's) into the empty hole beyond, and keep hopping as long as you can. Star Hops draws the whole chain before you commit, so you can see exactly where a marble will end up. A marble may pass through a spare point of the star but not stop there, and once a marble reaches home it stays home.
Against the computers the race ends when you get all ten home. It can also end when every other player is home, or when the race runs out of rounds; unfinished players are ranked by how far they still have to go. Only a first-place finish scores, with more for more opponents and fewer turns.
Controls
| Keyboard | Pad | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Arrows | Stick / d-pad | Move between holes |
| Z | A | Pick up a marble, then hop it to a lit hole |
| Q / E | L / R | Next marble that can move, or step through its landings, best first |
| X | B | Put it down, or open the game menu |
| C | C | Hint |
Hold Z to hurry the computer players.
On a phone or tablet you can simply tap the board: tap a marble to pick it up and tap a lit hole to move it. The see-through joystick and A, B, C, L and R buttons over the game work too, and match the keys above.
Gamepad: the stick or d-pad moves and the buttons follow the Pad column (Start is START). Esc, P or Back pauses, and the HOW TO PLAY button over the game shows the basics any time.
Modes
- VS COMPUTERS: race with 2, 3, 4 or 6 players. The computer seats fill in the order MAGPIE, HERON, WREN, FINCH and CRANE.
- PASS AND PLAY: the same race, passed around the table.
- TODAY'S RACE: the daily, below.
The game menu offers TAKE BACK, HINT and GIVE UP. The computers play to the arcade's EASY, NORMAL or HARD setting.
Mastery stars
Each star pays tickets the first time you earn it.
- Bronze: First Home: finish first against the computers.
- Silver: A Full Star: finish first in a six-player race against five computers.
- Gold: Faster Than the Flock: finish first on HARD.
Daily challenge
Yes. TODAY'S RACE sets the same three-player opening for everyone on NORMAL. There are no hints or take-backs, and a higher place and fewer turns score more.
Beginner tips
- Build ladders. Two or three of your marbles spaced one hole apart in a line let a marble behind them hop the whole way in one turn.
- Do not leave a marble stranded at the back. The last one home decides your finishing time, so bring stragglers forward early.
- Press Q and E to look through the landings for a marble: they are sorted best first, so the first one is usually a strong move.
- Use other players' marbles as stepping stones. Any marble can be hopped, including the computers'.
- Fill the far corner of your home point first. Marbles that arrive later then have room to slot in near the edge.