Peg Solitaire
Jump pegs, beat the cross — classic peg solitaire reborn in neon.
How to Play
Start with 44 pegs on a cross-shaped board with one empty hole in the centre. Each turn, pick a peg, then jump it over an adjacent peg into an empty hole — the jumped peg is removed. Keep jumping until no moves remain. The fewer pegs left on the board, the higher your score; one peg in the centre is the perfect game.
Controls
- Click / TapSelect a peg, then tap a green target hole to jump
- HintHighlight a recommended next move
- AutoWatch the AI solve the board
- RestartReset the board to start position
- PauseOpen pause menu
About This Game
A neon-arcade take on the classic peg-jumping puzzle — also known as Solo Noble or Hi-Q. Start with 44 pegs in a cross-shaped board, then jump pegs over each other to remove them until only one remains. Includes a hint system, an auto-solver to learn from, and a local highscores table.
What is Peg Solitaire?
Peg Solitaire is a single-player puzzle with a 300-year history. Also known as Solo Noble or Hi-Q, it asks you to remove pegs from a cross-shaped board by jumping each peg over a neighbour into an empty hole — the jumped peg is taken off. The board fills less and less, and your task is to leave as few pegs behind as possible. Most starting positions have many losing paths and only a handful of wins; the perfect game leaves one peg in the centre. Our version uses a neon-arcade visual style with CRT scanlines and glowing cyan pegs, but it plays as the classic puzzle: 44 starting pegs on a 9×9 cross, click to select, click again to jump. There are no timers and no penalties for thinking. A built-in hint system points to a recommended jump if you get stuck, and an auto-solver demonstrates the optimal sequence so you can learn the patterns. Local highscores track your best runs. Play Peg Solitaire free in your browser — no download required.
Tips & Strategy
- Aim for the perfect game — one peg left in the centre. It's much harder than just minimising count, but landing it once changes how you see the board forever.
- Don't immediately jump into the centre. Holding pegs in the central column late in the game gives you more directions to jump from when the board thins out.
- Avoid stranding island pegs in corners. Try to remove pegs in chains where each jump creates a setup for the next jump in the same area.
- If you're stuck, use the Hint button — it shows one valid jump. If you want to see a whole solution, watch Auto for a few moves, then take over.
- Plan three or four moves ahead. Peg solitaire is brutally unforgiving; the move that feels obvious is often a trap that strands two pegs unreachably.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I undo a move?
There is no Undo button — peg solitaire's depth comes from committing to your jumps. But Restart is one click away, the board is the same every time, and the Hint button will show a recommended next jump if you've talked yourself into a dead end.
What variant of peg solitaire is this?
A larger cross variant on a 9×9 grid with 44 pegs at the start and one empty hole in the centre. The shape and rules are otherwise identical to the classic English peg solitaire (Solo Noble, Hi-Q): jump each peg over a neighbour into an empty hole, removing the jumped peg, until no jumps remain.
Does Peg Solitaire work on mobile?
Yes. Peg Solitaire supports touch controls — tap a peg to select it, tap a highlighted target hole to jump. The board scales to fit any phone or tablet screen, and the audio toggles plus all UI buttons are touch-sized.
What counts as a perfect game?
A perfect game leaves exactly one peg, ideally in the centre square — the same square that was empty at the start. Most players celebrate a finish under five remaining pegs; under three is excellent; landing on one peg in the centre is the elite-level achievement and the original goal of the puzzle.
