Checkers (Draughts) Explained: Rules, Variations, and How to Play Online

Checkers, also called draughts, is a two-player board game in which you win by capturing all of your opponent's pieces or blocking every legal move they have. The version most people in the US and UK learn first is English draughts: an 8x8 board, 12 pieces per player, diagonal moves, mandatory captures, and kings that can move backward. You can start playing immediately at draughts.org against either the computer or a human opponent. The rest of this guide covers the rules you actually need, how the major variations differ, and the mistakes that cost beginners games.

The basic rules of English draughts

The board is an 8x8 checkerboard of alternating light and dark squares. Each player starts with 12 pieces (red and white), placed on the dark squares of the three rows nearest them. Pieces only ever occupy and move on dark squares.

Moving. On your turn you move one piece diagonally forward to an adjacent empty square. Ordinary pieces move forward only.

Capturing is mandatory. If you can jump over an adjacent opponent piece and land on the empty square directly beyond it, you must take that capture. This is the rule beginners break most often — if a jump exists, a quiet move is illegal.

Promotion. If a piece reaches the far side of the board, it becomes a king. Kings move and capture both forward and backward, which is what makes them so much stronger than ordinary pieces.

How the game ends. You win by capturing all of your opponent's pieces or by blocking them so they have no legal move. If neither side can move, the game is a draw. A player can also forfeit.

A quick worked example

Suppose your red piece sits on a dark square with a white piece diagonally in front of it and an empty dark square just beyond. You must jump: remove the white piece from the board and place your red piece on the landing square. If that landing square sets up a second jump, you continue the same turn. A chain of forced jumps is how a single move can swing a game.

Kings: the piece beginners misuse most

A king is powerful but not invincible. Two things trip people up:

• Kings can still be captured. Opponents jump kings the same way they jump ordinary pieces, so pushing a king deep into enemy territory without support usually loses it.
• Promotion changes the capture obligation. Once you have kings, more capture options open up, and because captures are mandatory you may be forced into a sequence you did not want. Before promoting, check whether the new king creates a forced jump that hurts you.

Comparing the main variations

The rules above describe English draughts. Other popular versions change the board size, piece count, and capture rules:

International draughts is generally believed to have originated in France in the 18th century. Its "must capture the maximum" rule is the biggest adjustment for players coming from English draughts, because it removes your freedom to pick a smaller capture.

Which should you play? If you are new, start with English draughts — fewer pieces and simpler capture rules make it easier to see the whole board. Move to International if you want a deeper, longer game and don't mind the larger board. Choose Russian draughts if you like the 8x8 board but want more tactical options from backward captures.

How to play online against the computer or a human

draughts.org offers two entry points from its main page: Play vs. Computer and Play vs. Human.

1. Open draughts.org.
2. Choose Play vs. Computer for a solo game with no waiting, or Play vs. Human for a multiplayer game.
3. Make your moves on the board. The site enforces the rules, so illegal moves — including skipping a forced capture — will not be accepted.
4. Play until one side captures everything, is blocked, or forfeits.

Playing the computer is the faster way to learn, because you can experiment with capture chains and see the consequences immediately without keeping an opponent waiting.

Common beginner mistakes to avoid

• Missing a forced jump. Scan the whole board for captures before touching a piece. If one exists, you must play it.
• Treating kings as safe. They can be jumped like any other piece.
• Trading pieces carelessly. Because captures are mandatory, every exchange changes who is forced to move next. Count the pieces before you commit.
• Forgetting the draw condition. If neither player can move, the game is a draw — not a win for the side with more pieces.

Once the basic rules feel automatic, the game becomes what it has always been for generations of players: a battle of wits and strategy rather than a race to the other side.