Checkers (Draughts) Rules and Strategy for Beginners

Setup and movement

The game is played on the dark squares of an eight-by-eight board. Each player starts with twelve pieces on the three rows nearest them. Ordinary pieces, called men, move one square diagonally forward onto an empty square.

Captures are forced

If one of your pieces is next to an enemy piece and the square behind it is empty, you can jump over it and remove it. In this version of the rules, you must capture whenever you can. If you have a choice of captures, you may pick any of them.

If your piece lands on a square from which it can jump again, it must keep jumping. A chain of captures in one turn is called a multi-jump.

Kings

When a man reaches the far row it becomes a king and is marked with a second piece on top. A king can move and capture diagonally in all four directions, one square at a time. Kings are much stronger than men, so crowning one is often the turning point of a game.

How a game is won

You win by capturing all of your opponent's pieces or by leaving them with no legal move.

Habits that win games

• Keep your back-row pieces at home for as long as you can. They stop your opponent from getting kings.
• Control the centre. A piece in the middle has more moves and is harder to trap against the edge.
• Move in groups so that your pieces protect each other. A piece with a friend behind it cannot be jumped.
• Before each move, check what the forced capture would be for your opponent. Many beginners give away pieces because they do not look.
• Use the forced-capture rule. A sacrifice that forces your opponent to jump into a bad spot can set up a double or triple jump for you.
• When you are ahead by a piece, trade pieces. When you are behind, avoid trades and keep the game complicated.

A worked example: the forced-capture trap

Imagine your piece sits next to an enemy piece, with an empty square behind your piece. Your opponent has to jump it, because captures are forced. If, after that jump, their piece lands on a square where one of your other pieces can jump it and then continue over a second piece, you have traded one piece for two. This kind of sacrifice is the main tactic in checkers, and it works precisely because your opponent has no choice.

The best defence is to look at every forced capture you might be giving away before you move, and to ask where the capturing piece will end up.

Play it on ForgeFlow Games

Our Checkers game uses these rules on a 3D wooden board and offers four skill levels against the computer, so you can start gently. You can also play a friend online.

Common questions

Can men capture backward?

In American checkers, ordinary men only capture forward. Kings can capture in any diagonal direction.

What if I have more than one capture available?

You may choose any of them. The rule is that you must capture, not that you must take the longest chain.

When does a man become a king?

When it lands on the far row. In most rules the move ends there, and the new king waits until the next turn to move.

Is it better to start with a strong or a gentle opponent?

Start gentle. You learn faster when you can see the consequences of a move and still have a chance of winning.