Checkers is a 2-player strategy board game played on an 8×8 grid. Each player starts with 12 pieces that move diagonally and capture by jumping over opponents. Reach the opponent's back row to crown a King with full movement. Play free online at BoardGame Battles against real players or AI.
📖 Rules — How to Play, Step by Step
- The board has 64 squares, but only the 32 dark ones are used. Each player starts with 12 pieces on the three rows nearest to them.
- Pieces move one square at a time, diagonally forward. Light pieces move first.
- You capture by jumping over an adjacent enemy piece into the empty square directly behind it. The jumped piece is removed.
- Capturing is mandatory. If a capture is available you must take it — though when several are available, you choose which.
- Captures can chain: if the piece can jump again after landing, it keeps going in the same turn, taking several pieces at once.
- A piece reaching the opponent's back row is crowned a King, which moves and captures both forward and backward.
- You win by capturing all enemy pieces or leaving your opponent with no legal move.
💡 3 Tips to Win
- Control the 4 central squares — the player who owns the center controls the game
- Keep pieces on your back row as long as possible to deny the opponent Kings
- Look for multi-jump chains to eliminate 2 or more pieces in a single turn
♟️ Advanced Strategy
Checkers looks simple because the rules fit in a paragraph, but it is a calculation game: every move you make either opens or closes a capture sequence for your opponent. Before moving, look at what your piece leaves undefended — mandatory capture means a badly placed piece can be used to force your opponent into giving up two.
The center is worth more than the edges. A central piece has four diagonals to escape along; a piece hugging the rail has two. Beginners retreat to the side thinking it is safe, and end up with stranded pieces defending nothing.
Hold your back row as long as you can. While it is occupied, your opponent cannot crown anything. It is common to see beginners dismantle their own back row early and spend the rest of the game chasing an enemy King around the board.
Sacrificing one piece to win two is the move that separates players from movers. If you can see two moves ahead that a given piece, offered up, forces your opponent to open a double capture, that sacrifice is profit.
There's a rarely discussed asymmetry in checkers: a player down on material can still draw if they get a King, because a free-roaming King is worth far more than three trapped ordinary pieces. That means a game lost on material isn't always lost — it can be worth trading pieces to open a diagonal and race for the crown.
Trading favours whoever is ahead. If you have one extra piece, trading piece for piece magnifies that advantage; if you're behind, every trade makes it worse. Obvious when stated, but it's the classic error of the player who is winning and goes soft: they start avoiding trades 'to keep the position rich' and hand the advantage back.
⚠️ Common Beginner Mistakes
- Pushing isolated pieces forward without support. A lone piece in enemy territory is almost always captured for free.
- Chasing a King at any cost. Racing to the back row while your defense collapses usually costs more than the King is worth.
- Forgetting that capture is mandatory — and offering a piece without noticing it forces a chain that gives up three more.
🕰️ History and Origin
Checkers descends from alquerque, a game played in Egypt and the Middle East over three thousand years ago. The version we recognise today appeared in southern France around the 12th century, when someone thought to play alquerque on a chessboard and adopt diagonal movement. The French name, 'jeu de dames', comes from the crowned piece, which moved like the chess queen.
There is no single game called checkers. English draughts uses an 8×8 board where ordinary pieces cannot capture backwards; international draughts uses a 10×10 board with 20 pieces a side; Brazilian checkers keeps the 8×8 board but gives the King unlimited diagonal range. Every country settled on its own, which is why a game between an Englishman and a Brazilian usually starts with an argument about the rules.
🔀 Game Variants
Brazilian checkers
8×8 board, 12 pieces each, mandatory capture and a long-range King. This is the default variant here.
International draughts
10×10 board, 20 pieces a side. Ordinary pieces capture backwards, making the game far more tactical.
English draughts
8×8, but ordinary pieces capture forward only and the King moves one square. Shorter, tighter games.
Russian checkers
A piece that is crowned mid-capture keeps capturing as a King in the same move.
🌐 How It Works Online
At BoardGame Battles, checkers follows the Brazilian rules: mandatory capture, chained captures and a long-range King. Play real opponents through matchmaking, challenge friends by invite, or train against AI at three levels.
Easy AI plays almost at random and is there to learn the movement; medium already spots double captures; hard calculates several moves ahead and punishes any piece left unsupported. If you're new, play a few games against medium before entering multiplayer — the global ranking is competitive and the gap shows fast.
📔 Glossary
- King
- A piece promoted on reaching the last row; it moves and captures in any diagonal direction.
- Multi-jump
- A chain of captures made in a single turn.
- Crowning
- The moment a regular piece becomes a King.
- Back row
- Your home row. Keeping it occupied denies your opponent Kings.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
How do you play checkers online?
Visit boardgamebattles.app, select Checkers, and play instantly. No download or sign-up required. You can play against AI or real players in real-time multiplayer.
Is checkers free to play online?
Yes! Checkers is 100% free on BoardGame Battles. No subscriptions, no hidden fees — play unlimited games for free.
Can you play checkers against the computer?
Yes! BoardGame Battles offers 3 AI difficulty levels: Easy, Medium, and Hard. Great for practice before challenging real opponents.
What is the best strategy for checkers?
Control the center, protect your back row to prevent king promotions, and look for multi-jump opportunities to capture multiple pieces at once.
How do kings work in checkers?
When a piece reaches the opponent's back row, it becomes a king and can move diagonally in both directions — forward and backward.
Can you play checkers on mobile?
Yes! BoardGame Battles works on any device — desktop, tablet, or phone. No app download needed, just open the browser and play.