Checkers
Jump, capture and crown kings — classic American checkers or international, Brazilian and Russian draughts, against the computer or a friend on the same screen.
At a glance
- Four rule sets: American / English checkers (8×8), international draughts (10×10), Brazilian draughts (8×8) and Russian draughts (shashki) (8×8).
- Every rule that differs between them is built in: backward captures by men, flying kings, the rule to capture the most pieces (international and Brazilian), and the Russian rule that a man crowned mid-jump keeps jumping as a king.
- Captures are compulsory and multi-jumps must be finished; jumped pieces leave the board only when the move ends, so no piece can be jumped twice.
- Play the computer on Easy, Medium or Hard — Hard thinks for about a second a move and follows every exchange to its end — or a friend on one device.
- English checkers is solved: Jonathan Schaeffer’s team showed in 2007 (Science) that perfect play from the start is a draw. The game has 500,995,484,682,338,672,639 possible positions.
- Hints, undo, a move list in standard notation (11-15 or e3-d4), optional square numbers, sound and keyboard play. Free, with no sign-up.
Step by step
How to play checkers
- 1
Choose the rules
American / English checkers is the default; pick international, Brazilian or Russian draughts if that is what you play.
- 2
Choose an opponent
Play the Computer at Easy, Medium or Hard (and choose your colour), or A friend on the same device.
- 3
Move diagonally
Click one of your pieces, then a highlighted square. Men move forward one square on the dark squares; kings move both ways.
- 4
Capture by jumping
Jump over an opponent’s piece to an empty square beyond it. If you can capture, you must — and keep jumping while you can.
- 5
Crown and win
A man reaching the far row becomes a king. You win when your opponent has no pieces left or no legal move.
Features
Everything you need, nothing you don’t
The rules you grew up with
Pick American checkers, international draughts, Brazilian or Russian rules — the board, first player and capture rules follow automatically.
Captures made clear
When a jump is compulsory the tool says so and rings the pieces that must jump; landing squares are marked for the piece you pick.
Multi-jumps your way
Click each landing square in turn, or go straight to the final square when only one route ends there.
A computer that fights back
Three levels, from random-ish moves for beginners to a search that sees exchanges coming.
Learn the notation
Moves are written the standard way for each variant, with optional square numbers on the board.
Two players, one screen
Play a friend with your own names; the board turns so the first player sits at the bottom.
How the rule sets differ
| American / English | International | Brazilian | Russian | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Board | 8×8 | 10×10 | 8×8 | 8×8 |
| Pieces each | 12 | 20 | 12 | 12 |
| Moves first | Dark | Light | Light | Light |
| Men capture backwards | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Kings | One square | Flying (any distance) | Flying | Flying |
| Must take the most pieces | No | Yes | Yes | No |
| Man reaching the far row mid-jump | Is crowned; move ends | Not crowned unless it ends there | Not crowned unless it ends there | Is crowned and keeps jumping |
Checkers strategy
- Control the centre. Pieces in the middle of the board have more moves and support each other.
- Keep your back row. Leaving your own back-row pieces at home stops the opponent from crowning cheaply.
- Use the compulsory capture. Offer a piece so that the forced jump lands your opponent where you can take two back.
- Trade when ahead. With a piece more, swapping pieces off makes your advantage count.
- Kings win endgames. Get a king early in the endgame — in the flying-king variants one king can control whole diagonals.
When the game is a draw
In every variant a game is drawn when the same position, with the same player to move, comes up a third time. Each rule set also ends games that make no progress after a set number of moves by each side, and the tool applies these automatically, warning you in the last ten moves. A player who cannot move loses, whether their pieces are all gone or just blocked.
| Rules | Automatic draw after |
|---|---|
| American / English | 40 moves each without a capture or a man moving. Official rules have no automatic limit: a player who refuses a draw offer must show a win within 40 moves. With no draw offers here, the limit applies to every game. |
| International (FMJD) | 25 moves each with only kings moving and no captures; 16 moves each with three pieces (at least one a king) against a lone king; 5 moves each with two pieces or one, including a king, against a lone king. |
| Brazilian | 20 moves each with only kings moving and no captures, which also covers three kings against one. |
| Russian | 15 moves each with only kings moving and no captures, or with three or more kings against a lone king; with kings on both sides and no capture or crowning, 5 moves in 2–3 piece endings, 30 in 4–5 and 60 in 6–7; 5 moves with three pieces against a lone king on the main road (a1–h8). |
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Is capturing compulsory in checkers?
Who moves first in checkers?
Can kings move more than one square?
Is checkers solved?
How do I make a multiple jump?
When is a game of checkers a draw?
Can I play against a friend?
Keep going
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