HT Games
Setting Up the Board
Marble solitaire is played with 32 marbles arranged on a board in the shape of a cross. The cross comprises 33 spaces with each point of the cross being three-spaces wide and seven-spaces long. Setting up the board requires placing the 32 marbles on the board's open spaces. Because you have one less marble than spaces, the center space of the board is open.
Playing the Game
Marble solitaire is played by jumping marbles over one another and into empty spaces. Beginning with only one empty space, start the game by jumping one of the surrounding marbles into the space. Marbles must jump over one other marble to reach the empty space and ca only jump horizontally or vertically. There are no diagonal jumps allowed and jumps cannot occur over multiple marbles. Each time you jump a marble to an empty space, the marble that was jumped over is removed from the board. If there is a marble that is surrounded by empty spaces, it cannot be moved unless another marble lands into one of the adjacent spaces. Continue jumping marbles until no other marbles can be moved. Then count up the remaining marbles.
The Goal
Marble solitaire's is to be left with one remaining marble in the game board's center space. Because the game is only played by one person, there is no clear winning or losing of the game. Having one marble left in any spot is still considered a good game, while each additional marble is less and less ideal. Having more than four marbles left on the board is considered a failure.
Strategies
Players hoping to reach the goal of one marble left must plan their moves carefully before jumping into the game. Begin by trying to remove the marbles out of one point of the cross at a time. Empty the marbles at the ends of the cross into the center of the play area to have more marbles available for jumping. Pulling marbles to the center also helps when it comes to the end and the final placement of marbles. It is also important when playing to keep marbles together. Don't jump one marble away from a group of marbles because this will lead to solo marbles that cannot be jumped or removed from the board. Always jump towards the group.
Versions
While the classic game of marble solitaire is played with a cross-shaped board of 33 spaces, the game can also be played on different sized board such as a 45-space cross or shapes such as a hexagon. The goal is always the same but more marbles means a greater amount of possible leftover pieces.