Tap a piece, then tap where to move. Red goes first. If you can jump an opponent's piece you must, and a piece that reaches the far row becomes a king.
These are the standard American checkers rules, also called English draughts: pieces move diagonally forward, jumps are compulsory, multiple jumps in a row count as a single move, and kings move and jump both ways one square at a time.
You win when your opponent has no pieces or no legal moves. Positions repeated three times, or a long run of moves with no capture or man move, are declared a draw.
Choose Easy, Medium or Hard, play as Red or White, or play two players on one device. Undo takes back a move. Winning against the computer earns fun points saved in your browser.
How to play checkers
Checkers is played on the dark squares of an 8×8 board. Each player starts with twelve pieces on the three rows nearest them. Red moves first. On your turn you move one piece one square diagonally forward onto an empty dark square.
Jumping
If an enemy piece is diagonally next to yours and the square just beyond it is empty, you jump over it and remove it from the board. Jumps are compulsory: if you can jump, you must. If after landing you can jump again with the same piece, you must keep going, and the whole chain counts as one move. If more than one jump is available you may choose which to take, even if another route would capture more.
Kings
A piece that reaches the far row is crowned a king and its turn ends there. Kings move and jump both forwards and backwards, but only one square at a time in this version. A king is worth much more than an ordinary piece, so getting one early is a big advantage.
How a game ends
You win by capturing all of your opponent's pieces or by leaving them with no legal move. The game is a draw if the same position occurs three times, or if there is a long stretch of moves with no capture and no ordinary piece moving.
Strategy tips
- Keep your back row as long as you can. It stops the opponent from getting kings easily.
- Hold the centre. Pieces in the middle have more options and are harder to trap.
- Move in groups. A piece with a friend behind it cannot be jumped.
- Plan trades. Offering one piece to win two is the heart of checkers.
- Watch for forced jumps. Because jumps are compulsory, you can set traps that force your opponent into a bad capture.
- Avoid the edges early. Pieces on the side have fewer moves and can be stuck.
Checkers or draughts?
In the United States the game is called checkers. In the United Kingdom it is draughts, and the rules are the same as played here. International draughts, popular in continental Europe and Africa, uses a 10×10 board, and men can capture backwards. If you learn this version you will pick up the others quickly.
Frequently asked questions
Are jumps compulsory?
Yes. If a jump is available you must take one, and the game highlights which pieces can move.
Do kings fly across the board?
No. In American checkers kings move one square at a time, in any diagonal direction.
Who moves first?
Red.
Can I play a friend?
Yes. Choose Two players.
Is this the same as draughts?
It is English draughts, the version played in the UK and US. International draughts uses a bigger board.