Peg Solitaire

What is Peg Solitaire?

Peg Solitaire is the wooden puzzle that sat on the shelf in so many grandparents' living rooms: a board full of pegs or marbles with a single hole left empty. You jump one peg over its neighbour into the hole beyond, and the neighbour comes off the board. Keep jumping until no jump is left.

The goal sounds simple: end with a single peg. The perfect finish puts that last peg in the very hole that started empty. Here you play the classic English cross of 33 holes, where the middle hole is the one to finish in, or the smaller triangle of 15, and a new board arrives every day for everyone, on the clock.

How to play

Tap a peg to lift it. The holes it can jump into light up; tap one and the peg jumps.

• A jump goes in a straight line over one neighbouring peg into the empty hole just beyond.
• The peg jumped over leaves the board.
• On the cross pegs jump across and down; on the triangle they also jump along its two diagonals.
• A peg with one jump makes it at once when you tap it.
• The game ends when no jump is left anywhere on the board.
• Score. Your time, plus a minute for every peg left beyond one, minus 30 seconds when the last peg stands in the starting hole. Undo costs 5 seconds, a hint 30. Lower is better.

Strategy tips

1. Clear the arms first. On the cross, the four arms are the hardest part to empty; deal with them while the middle still has pegs to jump over.
2. Do not strand a peg. A peg with no neighbours can never be removed. Before each jump, check that you are not leaving one alone in a corner.
3. Think in packages. Experienced players remove pegs in blocks of three or six with a fixed series of jumps; look for such patterns.
4. Keep the middle for last. On the English cross the final jump should land in the centre, so keep a peg nearby to finish with.
5. Use undo freely early on. Five seconds is cheap compared with a minute for every peg you cannot remove.

FAQ

Is Peg Solitaire free to play?

Yes. Like every game on Play, it runs free in your browser, with no download and no account needed.

Can every board be solved?

Both boards here can be solved down to a single peg in the hole that started empty. Many positions along the way cannot, which is what makes the puzzle hard.

What does the hint show?

The next jump of a way down to a single peg from where your board stands, if one can be found quickly. It adds 30 seconds to your time.

What is the daily board?

Every day everyone plays the English cross on the clock, so times compare directly on the leaderboard.

How is my score counted?

Your time to the end of the game, plus a minute for every peg left beyond one, plus 5 seconds per undo and 30 per hint, minus 30 seconds when the last peg stands in the starting hole. Lower is better.