Checkers Rules: How to Play Checkers Step by Step

Learning how to play checkers takes about five minutes, yet the game rewards a lifetime of practice. Two players each start with 12 pieces on the dark squares of a standard 8 by 8 board, move diagonally forward, jump over enemy pieces to capture them, and race to crown kings. This guide covers the standard checkers rules used in American play (sometimes called straight checkers or English draughts), how to set up the board correctly, and the strategy ideas that help new players win more often.

Quick rules

• Play on the 64-square board, using only the dark squares. Each player has 12 pieces.
• The player with the darker pieces (black or red) moves first, then turns alternate.
• Ordinary pieces move one square diagonally forward onto an empty dark square.
• Capture by jumping diagonally over an opponent's piece onto the empty square beyond it. Captures are compulsory.
• If another jump is available after a capture, the same piece must keep jumping.
• A piece that reaches the far row is crowned a king and can then move and jump backward as well as forward.
• You win when your opponent has no pieces left or cannot make a legal move.

What you need

• A checkerboard of 64 squares (8 by 8) in two alternating colors. A chessboard works perfectly.
• 24 checkers: 12 of one color (usually black or red) and 12 of a lighter color (white, cream or red, depending on the set).
• Two players. Groups can run a small tournament and track wins on our scoreboard.

Setup

Checkers set up is the part beginners most often get wrong, so check these points before the first move.

1. Turn the board the right way. Each player should have a dark square in the corner at their bottom left and a light square at their bottom right. A handy memory aid is "light on the right".
2. Place the pieces on dark squares only. Each player puts their 12 pieces on the dark squares of the three rows closest to them, four pieces per row.
3. Leave the middle empty. The two center rows start with no pieces at all.
4. Decide colors. Flip a coin or let the younger player choose. In a series of games, swap colors each game, since the darker side always moves first.

How to play

Moving

1. The darker side makes the first move. After that, players take turns making one move each.
2. An ordinary piece (often called a man) moves one square diagonally forward, toward the opponent's side, onto an empty dark square.
3. Pieces never move sideways or straight ahead, and men never move backward.

Capturing (jumping)

1. If an opponent's piece sits diagonally next to yours and the square directly beyond it is empty, you jump over it and land on that empty square.
2. Remove the jumped piece from the board.
3. Jumping is compulsory. If any capture is available on your turn, you must take one instead of making a plain move.
4. If several captures are available, you may choose which one to make, even if another would capture more pieces.
5. After landing, if the same piece can jump again, it must continue in the same turn. This chain is called a multiple jump, and it can change direction as long as each hop is diagonal and legal.
6. Men can only jump forward. Kings can jump forward or backward.

Crowning a king

1. When one of your men reaches the far row (your opponent's back row), it becomes a king. Your opponent crowns it by placing a captured piece of the same color on top.
2. Reaching the back row ends your turn, even if the new king could jump again straight away. It may jump on your next turn.
3. A king still moves only one square at a time, diagonally, but it can go forward or backward. This makes kings far stronger than men.

Scoring

Checkers has no point scoring inside a game. Each game ends as a win, loss or draw. For a match, many clubs and families use this simple scale:

How to win checkers

You win when your opponent cannot move on their turn. That happens in two ways: you capture every one of their pieces, or the pieces they have left are blocked so that no legal move exists. A game is a draw when both players agree to one, or when neither side can make progress. Tournament rules usually allow a player to claim a draw if no piece is captured and no man moves forward for 40 moves by each side; casual players can simply agree to stop.

Variations

• Flying kings (international and many European versions): kings move any number of empty squares along a diagonal, like a bishop in chess, and can capture from a distance.
• Men capture backward: in international draughts and several regional versions, ordinary pieces may jump backward, though they still move forward.
• Maximum capture rule: some versions require you to take the sequence that captures the most pieces.
• International draughts: played on a 10 by 10 board with 20 pieces each, using flying kings and the maximum capture rule.
• The huffing rule (older house rule): if a player misses a compulsory jump, the opponent removes the piece that should have jumped. Modern standard rules simply require the player to take back the move and capture instead.
• Giveaway checkers: the first player to lose all their pieces wins. A silly and surprisingly tricky twist.

Sources agree on the core rules above, but the details of draw claims vary between organizations, so agree on them before a serious match. If you enjoy the jumping idea, try Chinese checkers, which uses a star board and hops instead of captures.

Tips and strategy

• Control the center. Pieces in the middle of the board have more options and support each other.
• Guard your back row. Keeping two or three pieces at home for as long as you can stops your opponent from crowning kings.
• Move in pairs. A piece with a friend diagonally behind it cannot be jumped from that direction.
• Use the forced capture rule. Since jumps are compulsory, you can offer one piece to drag an enemy piece into a spot where you win two in return.
• Trade when ahead. If you have more pieces, even swaps make your advantage bigger.
• Count before you jump. Before every capture, look at where your piece will land and whether it can be jumped back.

Common mistakes

• Setting up the board with a light square in the bottom left corner, which puts all the pieces on the wrong squares.
• Letting a light side move first. The darker pieces always open.
• Skipping a jump because it looks bad. Under standard rules you must capture.
• Stopping a multiple jump halfway. If the same piece can keep jumping, it must.
• Letting a newly crowned king jump straight away in the same turn.
• Moving ordinary men backward. Only kings can do that.

Looking for more classic two-player games? Browse our board games guide or try backgammon for a game that mixes skill with dice.