Peg Solitaire

Peg Solitaire first appeared in print in the French magazine Mercure Galant in August 1697, where letters described a board game played at the court of Louis XIV. Engravings by Claude Auguste Berey and Nicolas I de Larmessin from that same year show aristocratic ladies puzzling over a board of holes and pegs. The game asks one thing of you: jump pegs over each other to remove them, and finish with a single peg left in the center. The 33-hole English cross board is the version most players know today. Mathematicians John Conway, Elwyn Berlekamp, and Richard Guy devoted a full chapter to it in Winning Ways for your Mathematical Plays, proving which starting positions can end in one peg. A 2023 study in the Journal of Human Behavior linked solo puzzle play with improved sustained attention in adults. Pick a peg and start jumping now.

1. Choose a board. The English cross has 33 holes with the center empty. The European board has 37 holes with the center already filled.
2. Click a peg to select it. Valid jumps glow to show where it can move.
3. Jump over an adjacent peg into an empty hole directly beyond it. The peg you jumped over is removed from the board.
4. Jumps move horizontally or vertically only. Diagonal jumps are not allowed.
5. Keep jumping until no moves remain. You win if exactly one peg is left, ideally in the center hole.
6. Press Undo to take back a bad jump. Press Restart to reset the board.

• The board starts with every hole filled except the center (English) or with a different gap pattern (European).
• A move is a jump: a peg leaps over a neighboring peg into an empty hole two spaces away in a straight line.
• The jumped peg is captured and removed immediately.
• Only horizontal and vertical jumps count. Diagonal jumps are illegal.
• You cannot jump over an empty hole, and you cannot land on an occupied hole.
• The game ends when no legal jump exists. One peg remaining in the center is a perfect solution.

• Work from the outside in. Clearing the arms of the cross first prevents isolated pegs that no jump can reach later.
• Avoid leaving single pegs stranded in corners. A peg with no neighbor to jump over and no peg that can jump over it is dead weight.
• Plan jumps that chain together. A single peg can make several consecutive jumps in one turn, sweeping across the board and clearing multiple pegs.
• Think in pairs. Every jump removes one peg, so the 32 starting pegs need 31 successful jumps to leave one. Track whether your planned sequence accounts for every peg.
• Memorize a known solution for the English board. Conway and others published complete move sequences, and learning one teaches you the footprints of every winning game.

• English Cross (33 holes): The standard board most people learn on. Starts with 32 pegs and an empty center. A perfect game leaves one peg in the center.
• European Board (37 holes): An older, rounder layout with 37 holes. The starting gap sits off-center, and a perfect game leaves one peg in a specific hole rather than the middle.
• 15 Puzzle: A different solo classic. Slide numbered tiles into order instead of jumping pegs, but the same single-player logic applies.

• It is a pure logic puzzle with no luck and no opponent. Every loss is your own mistake, and every win is earned.
• A full game takes five minutes, so it fits a coffee break.
• The board has 32 pegs and one goal, yet reaching that goal demands real planning.
• Solving it once feels good. Solving it on the harder European board feels even better.

Play Peg Solitaire directly in your browser. No download and no sign-up. Switch between the 33-hole English cross and the 37-hole European board with one click. Our version highlights every legal jump, tracks your remaining pegs, and lets you undo moves when you spot a better line. Choose a board and make your first jump.

Peg Solitaire is 300 years old and still demands your full attention. Jump pegs, clear the board, and chase the single center peg. Pick the English cross or the European board, undo your mistakes, and play a complete game in minutes. Start jumping now.

• Peg Solitaire history and the 1697 Mercure Galant letters - John Beasley
• Winning Ways for your Mathematical Plays - Berlekamp, Conway, Guy (Chapter 23)