How to Play Solitaire

Marble Solitaire (also known as Peg Solitaire) is a classic one-player puzzle game. The goal is to remove pieces from the board by jumping one piece over another until only a single piece remains.

What you’ll need

• A solitaire board (triangle or cross-shaped)
• Pegs or marbles to fill the board
• 1 player

Board types

This game is commonly played on several board layouts:

• Triangle board (15 holes, often played with wooden pegs)
• English cross board (33 holes, typically played with marbles)
• French cross board (37 holes, typically played with marbles)

The rules of play are the same for all versions. Only the board layout and starting position differ.

Set up

• Fill the board with pegs or marbles, leaving one empty hole.
• The empty hole is usually placed in the center of the board.
• On triangle boards, the empty hole is often placed in the center or at a corner.
  Different starting holes create different levels of difficulty.

Different starting holes create different levels of difficulty.

How to make a move

A legal move consists of:

• Jumping one piece straight over an adjacent piece
• Landing in an empty hole directly beyond it

Moves must follow the straight lines formed by the holes on the board.

Removing pieces

When a piece is jumped:

• The jumped piece is removed from the board
• The jumping piece occupies the empty hole

Each move reduces the total number of pieces by one.

Valid directions

• On cross-shaped boards, moves follow the straight rows of holes (up, down, left, or right).
• On triangle boards, moves follow the straight diagonal rows of the triangle.

In all cases, moves must stay aligned with the board’s hole pattern.

Continuing play

• You may continue making moves as long as legal jumps are available
• The game ends when no legal moves remain

Winning the game

The objective is to finish the game with:

• Only one piece remaining anywhere on the board, or
• In some challenges, one piece remaining in a specific position (often the center)

Ending with more than one piece means the puzzle was not solved.

Difficulty and variations

• Different starting empty holes create easier or harder puzzles
• Some players challenge themselves to end with the final piece in the center
• Triangle boards are often quicker games; cross boards offer deeper puzzles