Checkers

Board

Checkers is a strategy game for 2 players and is played on a checkered board with the pieces placed on the dark squares. The game is played on an 8x8 board with 12 pieces per player in the "English Draughts" variant, and on a 10x10 board with 20 pieces per player in the "International Draughts" variant.

Basic Movement

Moves are performed by moving a piece diagonally forward to an adjacent unoccupied square. Pieces must move forward and cannot move backwards unless they have been promoted to a "king". Since pieces are always moved diagonally, the game is played exclusively on the dark squares of the board.

Captures

Captures are performed by jumping an opponent's piece diagonally to an empty square beyond the piece. When presented with the ability to capture an opponent's piece, it is mandatory to do so. Multiple enemy pieces can be captured in a single turn as long as the captures are made by a single piece.

Promotion

When a piece reaches the row furthest opposite its starting side, it becomes a king. Kings have additional powers, depending on the variant of checkers being played, including the ability to move backwards.

Object of the Game

The object of the game is to capture all of your opponent's pieces. The game ends in a loss for the player that has had all their pieces captured or cannot make a move due to their pieces being blocked.