Checkers: free to play in your browser
Checkers, also called draughts, is the classic board game of diagonal moves and daring jumps, here with glowing neon pieces on a dark board. Capture your opponent's pieces by jumping over them, chain several jumps in one turn, and reach the far side to crown a king that can move both ways.
Play a friend on the same screen or challenge the computer. The game uses standard English draughts rules: captures are compulsory, multi-jumps must be completed, and a game with no captures or crowning for 40 moves each is a draw.
How to play
- Choose 2 Players, VS CPU (easy) or VS CPU (hard). Pink moves first, from the bottom of the board.
- Move the cursor with the stick, d-pad, WASD or the arrow keys. Press A, Space or Enter to pick up a piece, then again on the square you want to move it to. On a tablet or with a mouse, tap the piece and then the square.
- Pieces move one square diagonally forward onto an empty dark square.
- To capture, jump diagonally over an opponent's piece onto the empty square behind it. If you can capture, you must.
- If your piece can keep jumping after a capture, it must keep going in the same turn.
- Reach the far row to crown a king. Kings can move and capture forwards and backwards.
- You win when your opponent has no pieces left or no legal moves.
Game modes
- 2 Players
- Two players on one device. Either keyboard side or any controller can play on your turn, so one controller can be passed around.
- VS CPU · Easy
- A friendly opponent that looks only a move or two ahead and sometimes plays at random. Great for learning the rules.
- VS CPU · Hard
- Looks several moves ahead, sets up multi-jumps and protects its back row. A proper challenge.
Tips
- Keep your back row filled for as long as you can. It stops your opponent from getting kings.
- Pieces in the centre of the board have more options than pieces on the edges.
- Because captures are compulsory, you can force your opponent into a jump that sets up a bigger jump for you.
- Trade pieces when you are ahead: the fewer pieces left, the bigger your advantage becomes.
Questions
Is checkers the same as draughts?
Yes. It is called checkers in North America and draughts in Australia, the UK and Ireland. This version uses the standard English draughts rules on an 8 × 8 board.
Do I have to take a capture?
Yes. If any of your pieces can capture, you must capture, and you must finish a multi-jump. The game highlights the pieces that have to jump.
Can two people play on one computer or tablet?
Yes. Share the keyboard, pass one controller, plug in two controllers, or tap the pieces on a tablet.
Can I play offline?
Yes. Press Save for offline on the game page while you are online, and Checkers will keep working on that device without an internet connection.
