How to Play Checkers
Checkers is played on the dark squares of an 8x8 board with 12 men per side. Men move diagonally forward one square and capture forward only, by jumping an adjacent enemy piece. Capturing is mandatory, and a piece that can jump again must keep jumping. A man reaching the far row is crowned a King and can then move and capture in all four diagonal directions. Win by capturing every enemy piece or leaving your opponent with no legal move.
The rules, step by step
- 1Set up 12 men per sideEach side's pieces fill the dark squares of their nearest three rows. The middle two rows start empty.
- 2Move one square diagonally forwardA man may move to an adjacent empty dark square, toward the opponent's side of the board only.
- 3Capture by jumpingJump diagonally over an adjacent enemy piece into the empty square beyond, forward only for a man, removing the captured piece.
- 4Capturing is mandatoryIf any capture is available anywhere on the board, only a capturing move is legal that turn.
- 5Continue a multi-jump in the same turnIf a capture leaves the same piece able to jump again, it must keep jumping — unless it was just crowned, which ends the turn immediately.
- 6Crown a King on the far rowA man reaching the opponent's edge becomes a King, which moves and captures one square at a time in any of the four diagonal directions.
Try it — the rules above, running
New game deals a fresh 12-a-side board with you playing Red and moving first. Click one of your pieces, then a highlighted square to move it — when a capture is available anywhere on the board it must be taken, and a piece that jumps again keeps jumping in the same turn.
Your statistics
- Played
- 0
- Won
- 0
- Win rate
- 0%
- Streak
- 0
- Best streak
- 0
- Best time
- —
Keyboard
- Arrows
- Move the focus cursor
- Enter / Space
- Select or play a move
- Escape
- Deselect
- N
- New game
- F
- Full screen
How is the board set up?
- 1Place the piecesEach side fills the dark squares of the three rows closest to them — 12 pieces per side, 24 in total.
- 2Leave the middle openThe two central rows start empty, giving both sides room to advance.
What are the legal moves?
| Piece | Move | Capture |
|---|---|---|
| Man | One square diagonally forward | Jump forward over an adjacent enemy piece |
| King | One square, any of four diagonals | Jump any of four diagonals over an adjacent enemy piece |
What ends the game?
One side capturing every piece the other has, or one side having no legal move at all on their turn (a block) — either way, that side loses. A very long span with neither side able to make progress is ruled a draw.
How do you win more often?
- Keep pieces on your own back row as long as you canYour back row is the opponent's king row — every piece you leave there is a square their men cannot be crowned on. Move your back-row pieces only when you must.
- Control the centerPieces in the middle columns and rows have more replies available and are harder to trap against an edge, which matters more the deeper the game goes.
- Never move a piece into a square where a mandatory jump takes itBecause captures are compulsory, walking a piece one square away from an opponent's man that can now jump it is often a forced loss of material, not a maybe.
- Watch for a two-for-one before you take a one-for-oneA capture that only trades one piece for one piece is rarely as good as a line, even a slower one, that sets up taking two pieces for one a move or two later.
Common questions about checkers
- Do Kings move differently from regular pieces in checkers?
- Yes — a King can move and capture one square at a time in any of the four diagonal directions, including backward, while a regular man can only ever move and capture diagonally forward.
- Is checkers the same game as draughts?
- Checkers (American checkers) is closely related to international draughts but not identical: draughts is played on a 10x10 board with 20 pieces per side, men can capture backward, and Kings can "fly" any distance along a diagonal rather than moving one square at a time.
Ready to stop reading? Play checkers on the full board, with controls and statistics tailored to that game.