What is Halma on an 8×8 board?
Halma on an 8×8 board is the two-player game shrunk to the size of a chessboard. Each player starts with 10 pieces in a triangle of four rows in their corner: 4, 3, 2 and 1 squares, counted from the corner outwards. The two camps face each other across the board's long diagonal, and the goal is the same as on the full board: be the first to fill your opponent's starting camp with your own pieces.
The moves do not change. On your turn you move one piece, either one step to an empty neighbouring square in any of the eight directions, or a chain of jumps over single pieces of either colour into the empty square directly beyond. You may stop a chain after any jump, and no piece is ever captured. A piece that has reached your goal camp may move within it but can never leave it again.
The small board changes the feel of the game. Only 44 squares start empty, so the two armies meet after a few moves and spend most of the game jumping over each other. Long chains through the middle come early, every piece left behind is a stepping stone for your opponent, and a single misplaced piece can cost the race. Games take a fraction of the time of the 16×16 game, which makes this size a good first game and a quick one for anyone.
Rule changes
| Rule | Standard Halma | Halma on an 8×8 board |
|---|---|---|
| Board | Standard Halma16×16, 256 squares. | Halma on an 8×8 board8×8, 64 squares. |
| Pieces each | Standard Halma19. | Halma on an 8×8 board10. |
| Starting camp | Standard HalmaA stepped triangle of 19 squares in your corner: rows of 5, 5, 4, 3 and 2, counted from the corner outwards. | Halma on an 8×8 boardA triangle of four rows in your corner: 4, 3, 2 and 1 squares from the corner outwards. |
| Moves | Standard HalmaOne step to an empty neighbouring square in any of eight directions, or a chain of jumps over single pieces of either colour. Nothing is captured. | Halma on an 8×8 boardThe same. |
| How to win | Standard HalmaBe the first to fill the opposite camp with your 19 pieces. A piece in that camp can no longer leave it. | Halma on an 8×8 boardBe the first to fill the opposite 10-square camp. A piece in that camp can no longer leave it. |
| Game length | Standard HalmaA long race: 19 pieces to bring across a wide, mostly empty board. | Halma on an 8×8 boardMuch shorter: 10 pieces, and the armies meet within a few moves. |
History
Halma was invented in 1883 or 1884 by George Howard Monks, an American surgeon at Harvard Medical School. His inspiration was the English game Hoppity, devised in 1854. The name comes from the Greek word for a jump. The original board has 16×16 squares, with camps of 19 squares for two players and 13 for four.
Smaller boards are a long-standing alternative for two players: reference descriptions of the game note 8×8 and 10×10 versions, either adequate for two, with 10 and 15 pieces per player respectively. Some websites add a move limit to these small boards, under which a player who has not finished after a set number of moves (typically 30 on 8×8) loses. That limit is not part of the traditional rules and is not used here.