Board Games

Checkers - Rules, History & Strategy Guide

Q: How many pieces does each player have in checkers?

Twelve. The standard Anglo American game is played on an 8×8 board of 64 squares, using only the 32 dark squares, with each side’s twelve men starting on the three ranks nearest them.

Q: Can regular pieces capture backwards in checkers?

Not in the standard Anglo American game — uncrowned men move and capture diagonally forward only. In international draughts, played on a 10×10 board, men may capture backwards even though they move forwards, one of several rule differences that make the two games feel distinct.

Checkers is a two-player board game of diagonal movement and forced jumps, played with twelve pieces each on the dark squares of an 8×8 board. Capture by jumping enemy pieces, crown kings on the far rank, and win by leaving your opponent no pieces or moves. Casual games take ten to twenty minutes.

Reviewed & updated 2026-07-16

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History & Origins

Checkers, or draughts, has deep roots and appears in many regional forms. Its widespread adoption came from the fact that the equipment is simple and the rules are elegant enough to teach quickly while still supporting serious competitive play.

That elegance is the key. Every move is visible, every trade matters, and one weak square or mistimed jump can reshape the whole game.

How to Play

Standard checkers is played on the dark squares. Pieces move diagonally forward until they are crowned kings.

Move one piece diagonally forward to an adjacent open dark square.
If an opposing piece is diagonally adjacent and the square beyond is open, jump it to capture.
Most rules require a capture when one is available.
Reach the farthest rank to crown a king, which can then move and capture backward as well.
You win by taking all opposing pieces or leaving the opponent with no legal move.

Strategy Tips

Checkers rewards structure. Strong players avoid loose edges, manage tempo, and aim for favorable king races instead of random exchanges.

Avoid advancing pieces without support unless there is a tactical reason.
Treat the center as a resource because central pieces usually have more flexibility.
Do not hand over easy king paths in the late middlegame.
When forced captures appear, calculate the full exchange tree before you move.

Variations

American checkers, international draughts, and many national variants change board size, flying kings, and capture rules. Those differences can make the same-looking position play very differently.

Play Checkers on Arcadia

Play Checkers on Arcadia to put these rules and ideas into practice right away.

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Quick Answers

Are captures mandatory in Checkers?

In most standard rule sets, yes. If a capture is available, the player must take it.

What does a king do in Checkers?

A king can move and capture backward as well as forward, making it far more flexible than a regular piece.

Is Checkers solved?

Standard checkers has been strongly analyzed at the highest level, but that does not make everyday human games any less tactical or enjoyable.

How many pieces does each player have in checkers?

Twelve. The standard Anglo-American game is played on an 8×8 board of 64 squares, using only the 32 dark squares, with each side’s twelve men starting on the three ranks nearest them.

Can regular pieces capture backwards in checkers?

Not in the standard Anglo-American game — uncrowned men move and capture diagonally forward only. In international draughts, played on a 10×10 board, men may capture backwards even though they move forwards, one of several rule differences that make the two games feel distinct.

What is a double jump in checkers?

If a capturing piece lands where another capture is immediately available, it must continue jumping in the same turn, taking two, three, or more pieces in one move. The whole chain counts as a single turn, and under forced-capture rules you cannot stop partway.

Is checkers easier than chess?

The rules are simpler, but the game is far from shallow — checkers has roughly 5 × 10^20 possible positions, and it took until 2007 for computers to prove that perfect play by both sides ends in a draw. Chess is larger by many orders of magnitude, but at human level both games offer a lifetime of depth.

What happens if you cannot move in checkers?

You lose. A player with no legal move — whether because every piece is blocked or captured — forfeits the game, and this blocking win is a genuine weapon in endgames where material is level.

What is the difference between checkers and draughts?

"Draughts" is simply the British name for the same family of games; Americans say "checkers". The variant to watch for is international draughts, a distinct game on a 10×10 board with twenty men per side, backward-capturing men, and long-range flying kings.

What is huffing in checkers?

Huffing was an old penalty rule: if a player overlooked a compulsory capture, the opponent could remove — "huff" — the offending piece instead of demanding the move. Modern rules abolished huffing; today the player is simply required to retract the move and make the capture.

Can you play checkers online for free?

Yes. Checkers is free to play on Arcadia in your browser against an AI opponent, with no download or account required. Regular games against the computer are a quick way to drill forced-capture calculation and king endgames.