Draughts Online: Play Free Against the Computer

How to play draughts

1. Choose the computer or a friend on the same screen. You play Dark, who moves first in English draughts, from the bottom of the board.
2. Tap a piece, then a highlighted square. A man moves one square diagonally forward.
3. If you can jump an opposing piece, you must. Only the pieces that can capture are selectable, and a multiple jump is played one jump at a time.
4. A man that reaches the far row is crowned and becomes a king, which moves and captures one square in any diagonal direction. You win when your opponent has no move left.

Draughts or checkers?

They are the same game. Britain calls it draughts and America calls it checkers, and the English rules on this board are the ones both countries play. "Draughts" is also the family name for its relatives around the world, and those play differently: see the rule sets below.

The rules on this board

• Capturing is compulsory. When you can jump, you must. You may choose between captures, but you have to finish the sequence you start.
• No huffing. Some of us grew up removing a piece that failed to take, which is an old house rule called huffing. It cannot arise here, because the board only lets you select a piece that captures.
• Men go forward only, for moves and for captures. Kings go both ways, one square at a time.
• Crowning ends the move. A man that reaches the far row during a capture is crowned, and its move stops there.
• Winning. A player with no legal move loses, whether every piece is captured or every piece is blocked. On this board, the game is a draw when neither side has captured or advanced a man for 25 moves each.

The full rules, from setting up the board to the draw, are in our draughts rules guide.

How to beat the computer at draughts

• Guard your back row. While those men stay home, the computer cannot crown easily. Move them last.
• Hold the centre. A piece on the edge has half as many moves as one in the middle.
• Offer one, take two. The computer has to take what you offer, so a sacrifice can set up a double jump.
• Trade when you are ahead. With one piece more, every exchange makes your lead count for more.

Easy plays any legal move at random, which suits children and beginners. Hard looks several moves ahead on every turn.

Other kinds of draughts

Before the first move, the chips under the board switch to six other sets: international draughts on a 10×10 board, shashki, Brazilian, Spanish, Italian and Turkish. To play someone at the same screen, the two-player board opens ready for you both. For a friend somewhere else, Checkers in Gift Club on Telegram takes a challenge link in any chat and plays on shashki rules, for Stars or as a Spark round.

Frequently asked questions