Chinese checkers finishers. The rules are simple, so even young children can play. Despite its name, the game is not a variation of checkers, nor did it originate in China or any part of Asia (whereas the game 象棋 "xiangqi", or "Chinese chess", is from China). The game was invented in Germany in 1892 under the name "Stern-Halma" as a variation of the older American game Halma. The "Stern" (German for "star") refers to the board's star shape (in contrast to the square board used in Halma). The name "Chinese Checkers" originated in the United States as a marketing scheme by Bill
Kui (Chinese mythology) Kui (Chinese mythology) Kui () is a polysemous figure in ancient Chinese mythology. Classic texts use this name for the legendary musician Kui who invented music and dancing; for the one-legged mountain demon or rain-god Kui variously said to resemble a Chinese dragon, a drum, or a monkey with a human face; and for the Kuiniu wild yak or buffalo. While Kui 夔 originally named a mythic being, Modern Standard Chinese uses it in several other expressions. The reduplication "kuikui" 夔夔 means "awe-struck; fearful; grave" (see the "Shujing" below). The compounds "kuilong" 夔龍 (with "dragon") and "kuiwen" 夔紋 (with "pattern;