Telka, invented by George S. Parker, is played by 2, 3, or 4 players on an 18x18 board of interconnected circles, with the 26 circles in each of four corners replaced with art. Each side of the board then features 38 circles with a background of green, red, blue, or yellow, with the 12 circles nearest the outer edge highlighted. Circles in the middle of the board and between each colored side have a white background, known as Danger Territory. Players begin with their pieces (green, red, blue, or yellow) on the highlighted circles nearest them on the appropriately colored parts of the board. Players then take turns moving their pieces in an attempt to get three of them to the highlighted circles on the opposite side of the board.
Player movements are very similar to Chinese Checkers, with the exception that while in the white area, pieces jumped are removed from the board rather than being left in place. Some later versions of Telka include rules for playing Chinese Checkers (a.k.a. Peg Chow in some editions) on the Telka board, but these differ from the more commonly known versions of Chinese Checkers (including those published by Parker Brothers) by virtue of the different board and number of pieces.