Peg Solitaire is part of Higgster’s Games Compendium, a free app of 22+ games available for android and ios devices.
Simple in appearance, surprisingly tricky in practice — Peg Solitaire is a one-player puzzle that’s been testing brains for centuries. With just a board, a bunch of pegs, and a single goal, it’s the kind of game that starts easy and suddenly gets real quiet as you realize… you’ve trapped yourself. Here’s everything you need to know to get started — and maybe even beat it.
What Is Peg Solitaire?
Peg Solitaire (also called Solo Noble) is a puzzle where you jump pegs over each other — like checkers — removing the jumped peg as you go. The goal? End with just one peg on the board, ideally right in the center. The classic version is played on a cross-shaped board with 33 holes and 32 pegs, leaving the center hole empty at the start.
How to Play Peg Solitaire
The rules are super simple:
- Jump one peg over another into an empty hole.
- Jumps must be horizontal or vertical (not diagonal).
- The peg you jump over is removed from the board.
- Keep jumping and removing pegs.
You can only move if a peg has another peg next to it, with an empty space on the other side. - Try to finish with one peg left — ideally in the center.
That’s it! It sounds easy. It is not.
Winning the Game
- The ideal win is to end with a single peg in the center hole.
- Ending with one peg anywhere is good — but the center is the gold standard.
- Ending with two or more pegs? That’s a loss. But a great excuse to reset and try again.
Tips & Strategy
- Think ahead.
It’s easy to jump too quickly and end up stuck with pegs you can’t move. - Work from the outside in.
Many solutions involve clearing the edges first and building toward the center. - Undo and replay.
There’s no shame in backtracking. Sometimes solving it means playing around with different sequences. - Practice makes perfect.
Like chess or Sudoku, solving Peg Solitaire consistently takes time and patience.
Peg Solitaire is part of Higgster’s Games Compendium, a free app of 22+ games available for android and ios devices.
