[Sca-cooks] Re: time Period for Chinese Checkers....?

[Sam Wallace]

Hi,

It looks like the game's origina is a bit contentious if not its time. From
the Board Game Studies web site
(http://boardgamesstudies.org/colloquium/abstracts.shtml):

Halma and chinese checkers:
Origins and variations
Halma, a game from the 19th century, is still played in countless countries.
Most written material on Halma suggests the game was developed in England,
but Halma was invented by an American professor, George H. Monks. The game,
inspired by the British game of Hoppity, was produced in the United States
in 1885, following Monks' trip to England.
Even in the U.S. there was controversy surrounding Halma, as both E.I.
Horsman and Milton Bradley laid claim to the rights.  Bradley backed down,
and marketed a modified version as Eckha.
Halma is considered the forerunner of Chinese Checkers.  Released in 1928 by
J. Pressman & Company, Chinese Checkers did not receive a patent number
until 1941.  Though the origin of Chinese Checkers-or the transition from
Halma to Chinese Checkers-is still a mystery, one Pressman source calls its
introduction to the US market somewhat "strange" and "a fluke."
This report deciphers the origins of Halma, and shows the links to it's more
modern successor, Chinese Checkers.  Interviews with the Monks family give
some insight into the inventor. Rules of the game-including those rarely
shown for three players-are explained in brief, and an examination is made
of other games which can be considered variations of both Halma and Chinese
Checkers.
M. T. de Souza, A.L. Petty, N. Passos, G. Escorel,
& V. Carracedo Univ. São Paulo (Brazil)

Another good history of the game can be found here
(http://chinesecheckers.vegard2.no/history.html). Were you looking for
Chinese games or just interested in Chinese Checkers? If you are after the
former, I would be happy to provide you with any information I have.

Guillaume
********************

> >From http://www.tradgames.org.uk/games/Halma.htm

> Chinese Checkers, disappointingly, is no more than Halma transported to a
star shaped board.  It was first patented in the West by Ravensburger, the
famous German games company, under the name Stern-Halma in Germany a few
years after Halma appeared.  It was later launched in the USA under the
catchier name of Chinese Checkers, and this is the form that is most
well-known today. J Pressman is believed to be the person who introduced the
game to the USA during 1928 although several other manufacturers started to
make it thereafter including Milton Bradley whom, an unconfirmed report has
it, patented the game in 1941.
> "
> Batu
******************

> > Does anyone out there have an even vague idea of the time period/place
of origin of the game we now call chinese checkers.   ( I know...the name
would imply China, but havin minimal  knowledge  of  period gaming,  or even
games in general, I didn't want to make any assumptions.)

> > -Ardenia