Chinese Checkers
Chinese checkers probably do not come from the Far East, despite their name. On the other hand, Chinese checkers are a variant of the game Halma, a game created in England at the end of the 19th century by the American George Howard Monks, who invented a game called Halma, a name derived from the ancient Greek meaning "jump" but also an ancient pentathlon event. This first version of the game is played on the grids of a 16x16 square board. The version we know today was adapted under the name Stern-Halma (Halma: star) and patented in 1892 by the German company Ravensburger. This version of the game is played on a star-shaped game board. However, it can be seen that there is a rather similar version on a star-shaped board in Asia... When the game was first marketed in the United States by the company J.Pressman & Co. under the name "Hop Ching", the expression "Chinese Checkers" was used for the first time. However, this game in its initial square form is still called "Halma" in many countries... Gift idea for playing with the family, a very nice wooden board game gift. Original gift idea for a birthday, or for the end of the year celebrations.
