Checkers Rules: How to Play and How Draughts Variants Differ

Checkers, called draughts in British English, is a game for two players on an 8×8 board, with 12 pieces each on the dark squares. You move a piece one square diagonally forward, you must jump an enemy piece when you can, and a piece that reaches the far row is crowned a king. You win by capturing every enemy piece or leaving your opponent with no legal move.

Checkers rules at a glance (October 2026)

How do you set up a checkers board?

Each player starts with 12 men on the dark squares of the three rows closest to them. The row nearest you is your kings row. The player with the darker pieces, usually black or red, moves first, and then turns alternate. Pieces are flat discs, and a king is made by stacking a second piece on a man.

How do pieces move in checkers?

A man moves one square diagonally forward onto an empty dark square. It can't move backward or sideways. A king moves one square diagonally in any direction, forward or back.

How does jumping work?

To capture, jump over an enemy piece on an adjacent diagonal square into the empty square immediately beyond it, then remove the captured piece. A man jumps forward only; a king jumps in any diagonal direction. Any piece can jump a king.

• Jumping is compulsory. If you can jump, you must, even when it hurts you. This is what makes forced exchanges and traps the heart of the game.
• Multiple jumps. If your piece can jump again from where it lands, in any allowed direction, it continues in the same turn, and you must finish the sequence you started.
• Your choice of capture. If several captures are possible, you may choose which, and in English draughts you don't have to take the longest one.

How does a man become a king?

A man that reaches the far row, the opponent's kings row, is crowned. In English draughts, if it reaches that row during a jump, the turn ends there, even if the new king could keep jumping. It starts moving and jumping as a king on your next turn.

How do you win, and when is it a draw?

You win by capturing all your opponent's pieces or leaving them with no legal move. The game is a draw if neither side can force a win, or if both agree. Tournament rules add repetition and move-count limits. On this site's board, a game is drawn after 25 moves each with no capture and no man advancing.

How do other draughts rules differ from English checkers?

The same game is played across the world with local rules. Here are the main variants, with what changes from the English game:

What is a flying king?

In international, Russian, Brazilian and Spanish draughts a king moves any number of empty squares along a diagonal, like a bishop in chess, and captures an enemy piece at any distance if the square just beyond it is empty, landing on any empty square after it. That makes kings far stronger than in English draughts.

How is the capture rule in Russian draughts different?

In Russian draughts men capture backward as well as forward, and capture is compulsory with a free choice of route. A man that reaches the kings row during a capture becomes a king at once and carries on jumping as a king. Captured pieces come off only when the move is complete, and a piece can't be jumped twice in one move (the Turkish strike). White moves first.

How is Turkish draughts different?

Turkish draughts is not played diagonally. Each side has 16 men on the second and third rows. Men move and capture one square forward or sideways, never backward or diagonally, and kings move any distance along rows and columns. The most pieces must be taken, and captured pieces come off at once, but a king may not reverse 180 degrees in a capture.

How is Italian draughts different?

The Italian Draughts Federation (FID) rules say men capture only forward and never a king, and kings move one square. Capture priority is strict: the sequence that takes the most pieces, then a king capturing rather than a man, then the sequence taking the most kings.

Play checkers online

You can try all seven rule sets in our free Checkers game: English, international, Russian, Brazilian, Spanish, Italian and Turkish, against the computer on Easy or Hard or against a friend on one device.

Checkers rules: common questions

Who goes first in checkers?

In English checkers, the player with the darker pieces moves first. In Russian, international and Brazilian draughts, White does.

Is jumping compulsory in checkers?

Yes. If a capture is available you must take it. In English draughts you can choose any capture; in international and Brazilian draughts you must take the one that captures the most pieces.

Can a checker move backward?

Only a king can in English draughts. In international, Russian and Brazilian draughts, men can also capture backward, but they still move only forward.

Are checkers and draughts the same game?

Yes: checkers is the American name for English draughts. 'Draughts' also names the wider family, including international draughts on a 10×10 board.