I first read about the game of Halma in a book by Martin Gardner.  Several of the minimal solution values that Halma displays are from the readers of his Scientific
American column.  I would highly recommend the book to anyone interested in these types of puzzles.  He describes several Halma-esque puzzles, touches on the game of Nim, and spends several chapters exploring the game of Life.

Gardner, Martin, Wheels, Life, and Other Mathematical Amusements, W. H. Freeman and Company, New York, 1983, pp. 117-9.

See also: General --> Solutions.