How to Play Peg Board Games

Written By
Carl Carabelli
Carl Carabelli
Published: Oct 15, 2010
Updated: Feb 5, 2019
1 minute read

Learning to play the “Peg Board Game” (sometimes known as an “IQ Test”) is easy to learn, but difficult to master. The rules are staggeringly simple, but the strategy can be complex. The object is to remove pegs from the board by “jumping” them. The fewer pegs left on the board, the “smarter” the player is.

Place pegs in 14 of the 15 holes on the triangular board, leaving one hole (any hole) open for maneuvering.

Jump one of the pegs by moving a peg from an occupied spot, over a different occupied spot to the empty spot. You can only jump one peg and it has to be in a straight line up, down or diagonally across the board. Remove the peg that was “jumped” and place it aside. There is now a second hole to jump to, increasing the number of possible moves.

Continue jumping and removing pegs until you have no possible moves left. While there is no “winner” per se, the fewer pegs left on the board, the better the outcome. A player who leaves only one peg is considered to be a “genius.”

References

Carl Carabelli

Carl Carabelli has been writing in various capacities for more than 15 years. He has utilized his creative writing skills to enhance his other ventures such as financial analysis, copywriting and contributing various articles and opinion…

Sponsored
Our Pastimes Logo

A destination for the avid collector and weekend hobbyist alike, Our Pastimes features articles and tips about your favorite cards and games, hobbies and more.

Property of TechnologyAdvice. © 2026 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.