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Checkers rules: the complete guide
These are the rules of American checkers, also called English draughts, as published by the World Checkers/Draughts Federation (WCDF). They are the base of the game; other versions change only a few of them.
New to the game? Start with how to play checkers, then come back here for the exact rulings.
The board and the pieces
The game is played on an 8 by 8 board with 64 squares, but only the 32 dark squares are used. The board is placed with a dark square in the lower-left corner of each player's side. Each player has 12 pieces, placed on the dark squares of the three rows nearest them. The player with the dark pieces moves first and the players then alternate.
How men move
An uncrowned piece is a man. A man moves one square diagonally forward onto an empty square. It cannot move backward, sideways, or onto an occupied square.
How men capture
- A man captures by jumping diagonally forward over an adjacent enemy piece onto the empty square directly behind it.
- The jumped piece is removed from the board.
- A man cannot jump its own pieces, cannot jump two pieces at once, and cannot jump an enemy piece that has another piece directly behind it.
Compulsory capture
Capturing is mandatory. If you have a jump available on your turn, you must make one. If you have several jumps to choose from, you may take any of them; you do not have to choose the one that captures the most. The official rules do not use "huffing", the old custom of removing the piece that failed to jump: the capture is simply made.
Multiple jumps
If, after a jump, the same piece can jump again, it must continue. The chain can change direction, and a single turn can capture many pieces. You may not stop part-way through a chain.
Kings
A man that ends its move on the far row (the row nearest the opponent) becomes a king and is marked with a second piece on top. If a man reaches that row during a jump, it is crowned and the move ends, even if the new king could have jumped again.
A king moves one square diagonally in any direction, forward or backward, and captures the same way: by jumping an adjacent enemy piece in any diagonal direction. Kings can also take part in multiple jumps, and can combine forward and backward jumps in one chain.
Winning
You win when your opponent has no legal move on their turn. That happens if all their pieces are captured, or if the pieces they have left are all blocked. Resigning also ends the game.
Drawing
A game is drawn if both players agree, or if the position cannot make progress. Tournament rules add limits on repeated positions and on long stretches of play without a capture or an advance, so that a game cannot go on forever; casual games just agree. The last few pieces on the board usually decide it: a lone king can often hold two kings to a draw when it controls the long diagonal.
Touch-move and the three-move restriction
In tournaments, a player who touches a piece must move it (touch-move). In top-level play, the opening moves of each game are drawn at random from a list of accepted openings, called the three-move restriction, because the starting position has been analysed so deeply. Casual games ignore this.
Notation
The 32 dark squares are numbered 1 to 32, starting from the top-left dark square on the first player's side. A move is written like 11-15, and a capture like 22x15. Notation lets you record and study games.
| Question | American checkers |
|---|---|
| Board | 8 by 8, dark squares |
| Pieces each | 12 |
| Men move and capture | Forward only |
| Kings | One square, any diagonal |
| Capture | Compulsory, any sequence |
| First move | Dark pieces |
The other rule sets (Russian, International and Turkish) change some of these lines; see the variants guide. When you are ready, play a game, and the board will enforce the rules for you.
Frequently asked questions
What happens if you miss a jump in checkers?
In official rules the jump is compulsory, so a move that ignores an available capture is illegal and the capture must be made instead. In casual games the old custom was "huffing": the player who missed the jump lost the piece that could have jumped.
Can a king jump multiple times?
Yes. A king may chain jumps in any diagonal direction, forward or backward, and must continue while a further jump is possible.
How do you win at checkers?
By capturing all of your opponent's pieces or by blocking them so they cannot make a legal move on their turn.