Games of the World: Ugolki, Halma for an ordinary checkers board

Nine pieces in a corner and a race to the opponent's home: how to play, the 40 and 80 move deadlines, ladders and stragglers, the family of variants — and where to play right now.

The sixth article in our "Games of the World" series is about a game many people know from childhood: a checkers board, nine pieces in a corner and a race to the opponent's corner. This is Ugolki ("Corners") — and you can play it with us right now.

A cousin of Halma

Ugolki has no precise history. The Russian Wikipedia says the game appeared in Great Britain in the 18th century but gives no details. What is certain is that Ugolki is a close relative of Halma, invented in 1883–1884 by the American surgeon George Monks. In Halma you also move a troop from corner to corner by jumping, only on a 16×16 board. Put the same idea on a star and you get Chinese checkers — the subject of the previous article in the series.

Ugolki is Halma for an ordinary checkers board. That is probably why it caught on so well: an 8×8 board and checkers pieces are in almost every home.

How to play

An 8×8 board. Each player has 9 pieces in a corner — a 3×3 square (sometimes 12 pieces in a 3×4 rectangle).
The goal is to be first to move all your pieces into the opponent's home, the opposite corner.
A move is a step to a neighbouring square vertically or horizontally, or a jump over a neighbouring piece, yours or the opponent's, to the empty square behind it.
Jumps combine into a chain: you can jump as many times in a row as you like and stop wherever you want.
There are no captures — pieces are only jumped over.

How not to get locked out

A simple race has a weak spot: a player could keep their pieces at home, leaving the opponent nowhere to go. So the club rules have deadlines:

by move 40 all pieces must have left their home, and moving a piece back home after the deadline loses;
at move 80 the game ends, and whoever has more pieces in the opponent's home wins;
White moves first, so Black gets a last move: if Black also gets home, it is a draw.

Our classic version has one more rule: you may not lock in your opponent's pieces — a move that leaves an opponent's piece with nowhere to go is forbidden.

Secrets of the race

Build ladders. Two or three pieces one square apart make a road along which the next piece flies across half the board.
Leave no stragglers. One forgotten piece at home will cost so many moves that the whole race is lost.
Don't build ladders for your opponent. Every piece of yours in their path is a step for them too.

Variants

Ugolki is a whole family. Besides the classic 3×3 there are:

with diagonals — you can step and jump diagonally too; the game is faster, and the deadline to leave home is 30 moves;
3×4 — 12 pieces, longer and tighter;
the "triangle" 1-2-3-4 and 4×4 — bigger homes, a different shape of race;
Halma — on a 16×16 board, for two or four players.

And at VOG?

Status at VOG: available — play right now:

classic, with diagonals, 3×4, triangle, 4×4, Halma for two and for four — every player for themselves or in pairs;
a rating for every game;
rooms with bots of five levels, from beginner to strong player;
a game against a bot right in your browser, no sign-up needed — the "Play right now" card on the game page;
rules and strategy tips for every variant.

And if you want the same race for three or six, the Chinese checkers star is waiting.