Checkers
Jump over your rival's pieces. Take them all to win.
How to play Checkers
Checkers, also called draughts, is played on the 64 squares of a chess board, but only the 32 dark squares are used. Each player starts with 12 pieces on the dark squares of the three rows closest to them. Black moves first, then the players take turns.
Goal
Capture all of your opponent's pieces, or leave them with no legal move. Either way, you win.
Turn by turn
- Move. A normal piece (a "man") moves one square diagonally forward to an empty dark square. On this site, tap a piece, then tap a glowing square.
- Jump. If an enemy piece is diagonally next to yours and the square behind it is empty, you can jump over it and take it off the board. Men can only jump forward.
- Jumping is a must. If you can capture, you have to. When several captures are possible, you may choose any of them. Pieces that must capture glow gold.
- Keep jumping. If your piece lands where it can jump again, it must keep going in the same turn. The game shows each next landing square until the move is done.
- Crown a king. A man that reaches the far row becomes a king and the move ends there. Kings still move one square at a time, but they can move and jump both forward and backward.
End of the game
You lose when you have no pieces left or none of your pieces can move. The game is a draw if the same position appears three times, or if both players make 40 moves each with no capture and no man moving.
Playing against the computer? Your pieces are always at the bottom of the board. The last move is outlined so you can see what just happened. If you like quiet thinking games, also try Reversi.
Strategy tips
- Hold the centre. Pieces in the middle squares have more ways to move and attack. Pieces on the sides can only go one way.
- Guard your back row. Keep a few pieces on your first row for as long as you can. While they stay home, your opponent cannot easily make a king.
- Use forced jumps. Because captures are a must, you can give away one piece on purpose to pull an enemy piece into a spot where you jump two back.
- Move in pairs. A piece with a friend right behind it cannot be jumped from the front. Lone pieces far ahead are easy targets.
- Trade when you are ahead. If you have more pieces, swapping one for one makes your lead bigger. If you are behind, avoid trades.
- Get a king early. A king can go backward and chase pieces all over the board. In the endgame, kings decide the result.
Checkers FAQ
Is Checkers the same as draughts?
Yes. In the UK the game is called draughts, and in the US it is called checkers. This site uses the standard English rules on an 8×8 board.
Do I have to jump when I can?
Yes, capturing is required. If more than one capture is possible you can pick any of them, but once you start a chain of jumps you must finish it.
Can kings move more than one square?
No. In these rules a king moves one square diagonally, like a man, but it may go both forward and backward. Long-range "flying" kings belong to international draughts.
How strong is the computer?
Easy mostly plays random moves. Medium looks a few moves ahead. Hard searches deep for close to a second and rarely misses a tactic.
