Checkers
Checkers Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Equipment and Setup
Checkers is played on a standard 8×8 board of 64 squares in two alternating colors, of which only the 32 dark squares are used. Each player has 12 pieces (checkers), one player's dark and the other's light.
Orient the board so that each player has a dark square at their near-left corner. Each player places their 12 pieces on the dark squares of the three rows nearest to them, leaving the two center rows empty. By convention the player with the darker pieces moves first.
Object of the Game
Win by either capturing all of your opponent's pieces or by leaving your opponent with no legal move (all their remaining pieces are blocked). If neither side can force a win, the game is a draw.
Moving
Pieces move only on the dark squares, always diagonally.
- A single piece (a "man") moves one square diagonally forward — toward the opponent's side — to an adjacent empty dark square.
- A piece may never move backward (until it becomes a king) and may never move onto a light square or an occupied square.
Capturing (Jumping)
You capture an opponent's piece by jumping over it: from a square diagonally adjacent to an enemy piece, leap over it to the empty square immediately beyond, landing in a straight diagonal line. The jumped piece is removed from the board.
- Multiple jumps: if, after landing, the same piece can immediately jump another enemy piece, it must continue jumping in the same turn. A single turn may capture several pieces in a chain.
- Capturing is compulsory. If a jump is available, you must take it; you may not make a plain move instead. When more than one capturing sequence is available, you may choose which to make — but the chosen piece must complete all jumps available to it in that sequence. (Some casual rulesets add "huffing," penalizing a missed jump, but the standard tournament rule is simply that the jump must be completed.)
- A man may only capture by jumping forward; a king may jump forward or backward.
Kings
When one of your men reaches the far row (the king row — the row nearest your opponent), it is crowned, becoming a king (a second piece of the same color is placed on top of it).
- A king may move and jump both diagonally forward and backward, one square at a time.
- If a man reaches the king row by means of a jump, it is crowned, and the turn ends — it may not continue jumping as a king until your next turn.
Ending the Game
- A player who cannot move (because all pieces are captured or blocked) loses.
- A game is drawn when neither player can force a win. In practice, if one side has a clear advantage but cannot make progress, players may agree to a draw; in formal play a draw is declared when the same position, with the same player to move, is repeated, or after an agreed number of moves without a capture or advance.
Notes on Variants
The rules above describe the game most common in North America and the UK. Notable variants include International Draughts (played on a 10×10 board with 20 pieces each, where men capture backward as well and kings are "flying kings" that slide any distance), and regional forms such as Russian, Italian, and Turkish draughts, which differ in board size, capture direction, and king powers.