How to Play Checkers: Rules, Kings and Tips
Updated
Checkers, called draughts in British English, is played by two players on the dark squares of an 8×8 board, with 12 pieces each. Pieces move one square diagonally forward and capture by jumping over an opponent's piece, and a piece that reaches the far side becomes a king that can also move backward. You win when your opponent has no pieces left or no legal move.
Setting up the board
- Place the board so that each player has a dark square in the near-left corner.
- Each player puts 12 pieces on the dark squares of the three rows nearest to them.
- The two middle rows stay empty.
- The player with the darker pieces, usually black or red, moves first. After that, turns alternate.
Only the dark squares are used for the whole game. The row nearest to you is your opponent's king row: the row their pieces must reach to be crowned.
How pieces move and capture
A plain piece is called a man. Men and kings move the same way, except that kings may also go backward.
| Move | Man | King |
|---|---|---|
| Ordinary move | One square diagonally forward, onto an empty square | One square diagonally, forward or backward |
| Capture | Jump diagonally forward over an enemy piece next to it, onto the empty square just behind | The same jump, forward or backward |
| Multiple jumps | Keep jumping with the same piece while another jump is possible | The same, in any diagonal direction |
Jumped pieces are removed from the board; in a multiple jump, they all come off once the sequence is finished. A multiple jump may change direction from one jump to the next, as long as every jump lands on an empty square.
Do you have to jump? Forced captures
Under the official rules, yes. If you can capture, you must, even when the jump walks your piece into a trap. Three related rules go with it:
- If you have more than one capture, you may choose any of them. You do not have to take the one that wins the most pieces.
- Once you start a multiple jump, you must finish it.
- Any piece can capture a king, and a king is jumped exactly like a man.
Some families play with house rules. The old huffing rule makes captures optional, but if you miss one, your opponent may remove the piece that should have jumped. Other house rules say a king must capture before a man, or let a man crowned during a jump keep jumping. None of these are part of the official rules of draughts.
Checkers Legend comes with rule settings, because checkers has so many variants. Look through them before your first game.
Kings
- When a man reaches the far row, it becomes a king. On a real board you crown it by placing a second piece of the same color on it.
- Reaching the king row ends your move, even in the middle of a jump sequence. The new king can jump again on your next turn.
- In English checkers a king moves one square at a time. In international and Russian draughts, kings fly any number of squares along a diagonal.
How to win, and when it is a draw
You win when your opponent cannot move on their turn. That happens when all their pieces are captured, or when every piece they have left is blocked.
The game is a draw when neither side can force a win, or when both players agree. In 2007 a team of computer scientists proved that if both sides play perfectly from the start, checkers always ends in a draw.
Variants you may meet
Checkers is a family of games, and the rules change from country to country. These are the main versions.
| Variant | Board and pieces | Main differences |
|---|---|---|
| English checkers or draughts | 8×8, 12 each | Men move and capture forward only; kings move one square; any capture may be chosen |
| International draughts | 10×10, 20 each | Men may capture backward; flying kings; you must take the most pieces possible |
| Russian draughts | 8×8, 12 each | Men may capture backward; flying kings; a man crowned during a capture keeps jumping as a king |
| Italian draughts | 8×8, 12 each | Men cannot capture kings; you must take the most pieces possible |
| Turkish draughts | 8×8, 16 each | Men move straight forward or sideways instead of diagonally |
Dama Stars is based on Italian checkers, against the computer at three difficulty levels or against a friend. Turkish draughts lets you play the computer, a friend on one device or an opponent online, and even watch other players' games.
Tips for beginners
- Keep your back row filled as long as you can. While those squares are taken, your opponent's men have nowhere to land and cannot be crowned.
- Aim for the center. A man in the middle has two possible forward moves, while a man on the side edge has only one.
- Remember that a piece on the side edge cannot be jumped, because there is no square beyond it to land on.
- Use forced captures. Because your opponent must jump, you can offer one piece to pull theirs onto a square where you take two back.
- Trade pieces when you are ahead. Every even trade brings a winning ending closer.
- Before each move, check which jumps it gives your opponent.
Play checkers in your browser
Checkers for two lets you play a friend or the computer at several difficulty levels. English Checkers is played online, with a rating, a leaderboard and a chat for finding opponents. Master Checkers Multiplayer offers a multiplayer mode, a computer opponent or a friend on the same device.
For more board and thinking games, open the strategy collection, or move on to the 8×8 board's other classic in how to play chess.
Common questions about checkers
Do you have to jump in checkers?
Yes, under the official rules. If any capture is available, you must take one, and you must finish a multiple jump once you start it.
Can you move backwards in checkers?
Only with a king. In English checkers, men move and capture forward only. In international and Russian draughts, men may capture backward, but they still move forward.
Can a king jump more than one piece?
Yes. A king can make a multiple jump in any diagonal direction, as long as each jump lands on an empty square.
Is Chinese checkers the same game?
No. Chinese checkers is a race across a star-shaped board for up to six players, and nobody captures anything. Chinese Checkers Master lets you set up to six human players.
Learn the forced jump and the king row first, and every other rule in checkers builds on those two.
