Checkers

In Checkers you are not allowed to ignore a capture, even a bad one. That single rule decides more games than any clever plan, because a forced jump can drag your piece straight into a double capture. Checkers is a free board game you play in your browser. You move pieces diagonally across an 8x8 board, jump over your opponent's pieces to capture them and crown kings on the far row.

Key Controls

• Move a piece: LEFT CLICK AND DRAG

How It Works

Checkers follows the English rules, also known as Draughts. Each side starts with 12 pieces on the dark squares of an 8x8 board. A regular piece moves one square diagonally forward. When an opponent's piece sits next to yours with an empty square behind it, you must jump over it and remove it, and if that landing square opens another jump, you keep capturing in the same turn.

A piece that reaches the far row becomes a king, and a king can move one square diagonally forward or backward. You win by capturing all of your opponent's pieces or leaving them with no legal move. You can play against the computer, against another player online, or with a friend on the same screen.

1. Choose a mode: against the computer, online, or 2 players on one screen.
2. Drag one of your pieces one square diagonally forward.
3. Jump over an enemy piece whenever a capture is available, because it is required.
4. Continue jumping in the same turn if the landing square allows another capture.
5. Reach the far row to crown a king that can also move backward.
6. Capture every enemy piece or block all of its moves to win.

What Makes It Stand Out

• 3 ways to play: Checkers offers matches against the computer, online games and 2 player games on the same screen.
• English rules: The 8x8 board, 12 pieces per side and forced captures match the standard version played in the US and UK.
• Chain captures: A single turn can take several pieces in a row when each landing square opens another jump.
• Undo and hints: The game includes an undo option and hints for spotting your next move.
• 14 languages: Menus are available in 14 languages, including English, Spanish, Turkish and Japanese.

Getting Started

• Learn Checkers against the computer first. The forced capture rule feels strange at the start, and the computer shows you how often it decides a game.
• Keep your back row filled early. As long as those pieces stay home, your opponent has nowhere to crown a king.
• Control the center squares. Pieces in the middle of the board have 2 forward options, while pieces on the edge have only one.
• Move pieces in pairs. A piece with a friend directly behind it can't be jumped, because there is no empty landing square.
• Check every capture before you move. If your move offers a jump, your opponent must take it, which you can use to set up a bigger capture in return.

Going Further

Checkers rewards players who use the forced capture rule as a weapon. Offering one piece on purpose can pull an enemy piece into a square where your reply jumps 2 or 3 pieces at once. Kings change the balance of the endgame, since a king can attack from behind while regular pieces only move forward. Trading pieces is good when you are ahead and bad when you are behind, because fewer pieces on the board give the leading side more room to crown. Progress comes from beating the computer more often and from online wins, so careful openings matter more than fast play.

Mistakes Worth Avoiding

• Forgetting that captures are forced. A move that offers a jump hands the opponent a capture they are required to take.
• Emptying the back row too early. Once those squares are open, enemy pieces walk through to become kings.
• Leaving a piece alone on the edge. An isolated piece has only one direction to move and is easy to trap.
• Racing for a king without support. A lone piece rushing forward is usually captured before it reaches the far row.
• Trading pieces when behind. Every even trade makes the side with more pieces harder to stop.

Similar Board Games

If reading the board a few moves ahead is the part you enjoyed, Chess is the deeper cousin, with 6 piece types and the same turn by turn duel. Connect 4 trades captures for a race to line up 4 pieces, which makes for quicker rounds. Tic Tac Toe strips the idea down to a grid and 2 marks, with a 5x5 board for longer games. More picks are in Board Games.

Final Thoughts

The Checkers game plays the classic rules straight, and the online mode gives it more life than a computer only version. Playing Checkers online suits anyone who likes short tactical duels. Players expecting international rules with flying kings on a 10x10 board won't find them here.

FAQs About Checkers

1. What is Checkers?

   Checkers is a 2 player strategy board game played on an 8x8 board with 12 pieces per side. Players move diagonally, capture by jumping over enemy pieces and win by removing or blocking all of the opponent's pieces.

2. How to play Checkers?

   Drag a piece one square diagonally forward, and jump over an enemy piece whenever a capture is available. A piece that reaches the far row becomes a king and can move backward too.

3. Are captures mandatory in Checkers?

   Yes. Checkers follows the English rules, so a capture must be made whenever one is available. If a jump leads to another jump, the capturing continues in the same turn.

4. Can I play Checkers on mobile?

   Yes. Checkers runs in mobile and tablet browsers as well as on desktop. The rules and game modes are the same on every device.

5. Can you play Checkers with a friend?

   Yes. Checkers has a 2 player mode on the same screen and an online mode against other players. There is also a mode against the computer.

6. How do kings move in Checkers?

   A king in Checkers moves one square diagonally, forward or backward. A regular piece becomes a king when it reaches the far row of the board.