Quick Rules
Checkers is played by two players on the dark squares of an 8 by 8 board. Each side starts with 12 pieces on the three rows nearest to it. This is the American game, also called English draughts, the one most of us learned at the kitchen table.
- Who starts. Dark moves first, then the players take turns.
- Moving. An ordinary piece (a man) moves one square diagonally forward, onto an empty dark square.
- Jumping. If an opponent's piece is diagonally in front of yours with an empty square behind it, you jump over it and take it off the board.
- Jumps are required. If you can jump, you must. If you land where another jump is possible, keep jumping with the same piece.
- Kings. A man that reaches the far row is crowned king. Kings move and jump forward and backward. A man crowned during a jump stops there.
- Winning. You win when your opponent has no pieces left or cannot make a move.
- Draws. A draw by agreement, by the same position three times, or after 40 moves each without a jump or a man moving.
How to Play on This Page
Tap one of your pieces. Every square it can move to gets a dot and an outline. Tap one of those squares and the piece moves there. To put the piece back down, tap it again. When a jump is required, only the pieces that can jump are outlined, and the box above the board tells you so.
For a double or triple jump, tap each landing square in turn. If there is only one way to finish, tap the last square and the game makes the whole jump. The last move is shown with a yellow trail, and a small cross marks any piece it took.
Tap Hint for a suggested move with a reason, Why? beside a computer move to see what it was thinking, and Undo My Move to take a move back. In Settings you can pick Easy, Normal or Hard, play the light pieces, or, on a tablet or computer, play a friend on the same screen. Light pieces have rings and dark pieces are solid, so you can tell them apart without relying on color.
Tips for Winning
- Look before you move. Before every move, check whether it lets your opponent jump. Most games are lost to a piece left on its own.
- Keep your back row. Pieces on your own back row stop the other side from crowning kings. Leave them there as long as you can.
- Move in pairs. A piece with a friend right behind it can't be jumped from the front. Advance together, not one at a time.
- Take the center. Pieces in the middle of the board have more choices and protect each other.
- Trade when ahead. If you are a piece up, even swaps make your lead count for more.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is checkers free to play here?
Yes. Play as many games as you like for free, with no account, no download and no ads over the board.
Does the computer cheat?
No. Checkers has no hidden cards or dice: you and the computer see exactly the same board, and the computer has to follow the same rules you do. It simply looks ahead at the moves it could make. Tap Why? beside any computer move to read its reason. Every game also has a number, and Replay This Game starts the same game again, so you can try a different idea against the same opponent.
Do I have to jump if I can?
Yes. In American checkers a jump is required whenever one is available. The game outlines the pieces that can jump and the status box says so. If a jump lands where another jump is possible, the same piece must keep jumping until it can't jump any more.
How do I make a double jump on this page?
Tap the piece, then tap each landing square in turn. Each square you can land on next is marked with a dot. If there is only one way to finish the jump, you can tap the last square and the game makes the whole jump for you.
How does a piece become a king?
When one of your ordinary pieces (a man) reaches the far side of the board, it is crowned king and gets a crown symbol. Kings move and jump diagonally both forward and backward. A man that is crowned in the middle of a jump stops there; the move is over.
How do I win, and when is it a draw?
You win when the other side has no pieces left, or has pieces but no legal move. The game is a draw if both players agree to one, if the same position comes up three times with the same player to move, or if each player makes 40 moves without a capture or an ordinary piece moving.
Can I take back a move?
Yes, unless you turn it off. Undo takes back your last move, and against the computer it takes back the computer's reply too, so it is your turn again. You can switch Allow Undo off in Settings if you prefer to play without it.
Can two people play on the same device?
Yes, on a tablet or computer. Open Settings, choose Two players on this device, and type a name for each side if you like. The status box shows whose turn it is in large letters. On a phone the screen is too small for two, so phones play against the computer.
Does the game save my progress?
Yes. Your game is saved in your browser after every move, so you can close the page and continue later on the same device.
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