Chinese Checkers is originally based on Halma, another puzzle game that was invented by Dr. George Howard Monks, who was an American Professor. Halma is a Greek word which means ‘jump' and this is what Dr. George Howard Monks meant by naming the game with this Greek word.
The game was meant for 2 or four players but some versions made the game ideal for a three player setup. Chinese Checkers is a derivation of Halma and the major difference between both games is that Chinese Checkers is played on a six winged star. The six pointed star shape allow 2-6 players to play the game comfortably and this is how the game attracted worldwide popularity.

In Chinese Checkers, each player has only 10 pieces and the distance of the opponents arena is not as far as the standard Halma games. There are some children's versions and for those, it is not necessary that the player will get 10 pieces but the pieces can be as low as 6. There are two player versions of the game and in two player versions, players use fifteen tiles each. Ravensburger, a German company took patent for Chinese Checkers for the first time in the world.
The game was named Stern-Halma to make the Halma association of the game more evident so that Halma enthusiasts will try this game quickly. However, the first version of Chinese Checkers that was published in United States was named Hopching Checkers and this was in 1928.

However, the first star board was introduced to the Western world and this was in 1909 in England. The American Version, Hopching Checkers was considered as a close replica of star Halma. The game received the name ‘Chinese Checkers' and designs related to Chinese culture after some time because people in the United States were interested in oriental culture. Another reason for the quick popularity of this game is Mahjong, which is another Chinese game that was introduced to the Western world almost at the same time.
By 1930s, the craze for Chinese Checkers was widely spread and the demand for this game was very high all over America. Interestingly, Chinese Checkers wiped off Halma from many stores except Germany. Halma is the most famous game in Germany even today and the reason for the same is unknown.

The game's objective is to play in the corner opposite of the player's starting point and the star shaped hexagram allows both single moves and jumps over other pieces. The board has 121 indentations arranged to form the hexagram (six pointed star). Excluding the star points the hexagram contains 61 points.
The gameplay includes bringing matching pieces together. This can be done by moving to a nearest point or by jumping over the opponent's coin. The objective of the game is to enter the opponent's point which is known as home base and the person who finishes entering the opponent's point first will win the game.

There is no doubt that Chinese Checkers is a very fun oriented game mainly because both players are left with same number of coins and their power distribution is equal.
Since each coin has the same value, the game completely depends on logic and strategically playing, and this is why Chinese Checkers is considered as one of the best mental exercises a person can get. Even though there are some variations in the game that can be found in many parts of the world, the main objective of this game remain the same. Due to its simplicity and intellectual requirements, this game is one of the most played games in the world.