How to play checkers
Each side starts with 12 pieces on the dark squares of an 8 by 8 board. Black moves first, and the players then take turns. To move, tap a piece and then tap one of the highlighted squares, or drag the piece there. On a keyboard, use Tab or the arrow keys to reach a square and press Enter.
- Moving: an ordinary piece (a man) steps one square diagonally forward onto an empty dark square.
- Capturing: jump diagonally over an enemy piece that sits next to you onto the empty square just behind it. The jumped piece is removed.
- Captures are forced: if any jump is available you must take one. When a capture is forced, the pieces that can jump get a gold outline.
- Multi-jumps: if the piece that just jumped can jump again, it must keep going. Tap each landing square in turn.
- Kings: a man that reaches the far row is crowned and the move ends there. Kings move and capture one square diagonally in all four directions.
- Winning: you win when your opponent has no legal move, either because all their pieces are gone or because every piece is blocked.
Undo takes back your last move (and the computer's reply). The counter under the board shows the move number, and once the game gets slow it also shows how close you are to the 40-move draw.
Strategy tips
Openings
Start by moving pieces toward the center. The four middle squares give your men the most options and block your opponent's paths. Avoid opening down the edges: an edge piece can only move one way and is easy to trap. Develop in pairs so each advanced piece has a friend behind it. A piece with support cannot be jumped, because the landing square is already taken.
Guard your back row
Your opponent can only crown on your back row. Keeping two well-spaced pieces there for most of the game, with one empty square between them, makes it very hard for them to get a king. Move those last.
Use forced captures against your opponent
Because jumps are mandatory, you can offer one piece to drag an enemy piece into a spot where you then jump two. Before every move, check what your opponent will be forced to do next. The same rule can be used against you, so look for these traps on the computer's turn too.
Endgame
When you are a piece or more ahead, trade pieces: each even exchange makes your lead bigger in relative terms. Get a king early in the endgame and use it to herd enemy men toward the edges. Two kings can trap a lone king in a double corner; one king alone usually cannot.
Variants
This page uses American checkers rules, also called English draughts. International draughts uses a 10 by 10 board, lets men capture backward and gives kings long diagonal moves. Russian and Brazilian draughts use 8 by 8 boards with flying kings. Some casual players skip the forced capture rule, which makes the game simpler but removes most of its tactics. Checkers was weakly solved in 2007 by a research team at the University of Alberta: with perfect play from both sides, the game is a draw.
If you like games where reading a few moves ahead pays off, try Four in a Row next, or step up to chess against the computer.
Questions
Do I have to jump if I can?
Yes. In American checkers a capture is mandatory. If several captures are available you may choose any of them, but you must finish the whole sequence of jumps with the piece you started with.
How does a king move?
A king moves one square diagonally in any of the four directions and can capture forward or backward. It does not fly across the board the way kings do in some international versions.
Who moves first?
Black (the dark pieces) always makes the first move. Pick Red if you would rather let the computer open.
How strong is the Hard level?
Hard searches many moves ahead within a short time limit and rarely misses a tactic. It is a solid club-level sparring partner but not a perfect player.
When is the game a draw?
Here the game is drawn when 40 moves pass for each side with no capture and no uncrowned piece moving. That usually means two kings are chasing each other with no way to win.