How to play checkers
- Choose your opponent: the computer (pick a level and who goes first) or a friend on the same device.
- Under "Rules and options" pick the rule set: Classic or Flying kings.
- Tap one of your pieces, then one of the highlighted squares. Men move diagonally forward.
- Capture by jumping over an opponent's piece: it's mandatory, and you can chain jumps. You win when your opponent has no pieces left or can't move.
Checkers rules in this game
Each player starts with 12 men on the dark squares. In the classic rules (English checkers or American checkers), men move and capture forward, and kings move and capture one square at a time in any diagonal direction. When a man reaches the far row, it is crowned a king.
With flying kings (as in Brazilian draughts), kings travel the whole diagonal and capture from a distance, men can also capture backward, and if several captures are possible, you must choose the one that takes the most pieces.
The easy level sometimes plays at random, medium looks a few moves ahead and hard calculates much further. Everything happens on your device and nothing is sent to any server.
Good to know
- There are many checkers and draughts variants around the world (Spanish, Italian, Russian, 10×10 international) with different rules; this game offers two rule sets on an 8×8 board.
- The game is declared a draw if 40 moves by each side pass without a capture or a man moving.
- Scores and settings are saved only in this browser. Against the computer, Undo takes back your move and its reply.
Frequently asked questions
Is capturing mandatory?
Yes. If you can capture a piece, you have to. If several jumps in a row are possible, the move completes all of them.
How do you crown a man?
When it reaches the back row on the opponent's side of the board, it becomes a king (marked with a crown) and gains more mobility.
What are flying kings?
It's a rule set in which the king can move any number of free squares along a diagonal and capture from a distance, as in Brazilian draughts.
Who goes first?
The light pieces go first. Against the computer you can choose whether you or it starts.
Is it free? Do I need to install anything?
It's free, needs no sign-up and runs right in your browser, on phone, tablet or computer.