Checkers

How to Play Checkers

1. Choose a piece. You start as Red at the bottom, and Red moves first.
2. Select a highlighted destination. An ordinary piece moves one square diagonally forward.
3. Take available jumps. Jump over a neighboring opponent’s piece into the empty square immediately beyond it.
4. Complete the turn. Continue jumping or choose End turn. Select another movable piece to cancel an unfinished capture and choose again.
5. Leave the computer without a move. Win by capturing all its pieces or blocking every legal move.

Select a piece and then its destination. Dragging is not required.

Checkers Rules: Moves, Captures and Kings

The setup. Both sides begin with 12 ordinary pieces on the dark squares of their nearest three rows. Only dark squares are used.

Ordinary pieces. Move one square diagonally forward into an empty square. Ordinary pieces capture forward only.

Captures are optional. You may make an ordinary legal move even when a capture is available. Rings mark every capturing piece, and × marks all capturable opponents, including those reached by later jumps. Select a piece to see every capture route and its numbered landings. Taking the most pieces is not required.

Multiple jumps. After each jump, you can keep jumping or choose End turn to stop. Click another movable piece to cancel the unfinished capture, restore its captured pieces, and choose a different move. You cannot keep the captures and move a second piece in the same turn.

Becoming a king. Reach the farthest row to be crowned. Your turn ends there, including when you arrive by jumping. The new king cannot immediately continue backward.

Kings. Move one square diagonally forward or backward. Capture an adjacent opponent by landing immediately beyond it. Kings cannot slide across several empty squares.

Winning and drawing. Having no legal move is a loss, even when pieces remain. This page automatically declares a draw after the same position occurs three times with the same side to move, or after 40 turns per side without a capture or an ordinary-piece move.

This casual 8×8 variant uses optional captures with forward-only ordinary pieces and short kings.

Checkers Strategy and Tips

1. Read the whole capture route. Check where your piece must finish, not just the first piece you can take.
2. Look at the computer’s reply. A tempting capture may expose a longer jump against you.
3. Advance with support. Nearby pieces can protect landing squares and reduce isolated targets.
4. Keep useful back-row defenders. They can delay a king, but do not keep them still when moving creates a better position.
5. Compare the complete exchange. Consider the board after both sides finish their captures.
6. Preserve your kings’ mobility. Backward options are useful only when you leave room to use them.

Easy, Medium and Hard Computer Opponents

Easy offers a gentler opponent for learning the controls and spotting basic captures.

Medium is the default for balanced practice, including exchanges, multiple jumps and promotion threats.

Hard searches further to create a stronger challenge. It uses the same rules and has no hidden information.

Changing difficulty starts a new game after confirmation. There is no countdown, so you can take time to plan your reply.

Hints, Undo and Saved Games

Hint suggests a legal move without playing it for you. For a multiple capture, it shows the route. A suggestion is not a guaranteed winning solution.

Undo returns to the position before your previous completed turn and removes the computer’s reply. During a capture sequence, Undo cancels that sequence; it is unavailable after the game ends.

Your game and preferences are saved in this browser when storage is available. Changing language preserves your position and rules. Audio settings let you control music and sound effects separately.