The board and setup
The board has 64 squares, but only the 32 dark ones are used. Each player starts with 12 pieces, called men, on the dark squares of the three rows nearest them. The two middle rows start empty.
Red starts at the bottom of the board and moves first here, then the players alternate turns. Red’s men travel up the board and Black’s travel down.
How pieces move
A man moves one square diagonally forward onto an empty dark square. It never moves sideways, and an ordinary man can never move backwards.
You move one piece per turn. If your opponent has a piece beside yours and the square just beyond it is empty, you can capture it, as described next.
Capturing: jumping is mandatory
To capture, jump diagonally over an adjacent enemy piece into the empty square directly beyond it. The jumped piece is removed from the board. A man can only jump forward.
Capturing is compulsory: if any of your pieces can jump, you must make a jump and may not play a plain move that turn. If several captures are open you may choose which one to play; you are not forced to take the biggest (is capturing mandatory).
If the piece that just jumped can jump again from where it landed, it must keep going, and the whole chain is one turn. No other piece may move until the chain ends (multiple jumps). A chain may change direction between jumps.
Example: a Red man on c3 with Black men on d4 and f6, and e5 and g7 empty, jumps d4 to land on e5, then jumps f6 to land on g7. Both pieces come off in one turn, recorded as c3×e5×g7.
Kings
A man that reaches the far row, the one furthest from where it started, is crowned a king. A king moves and jumps one square diagonally in all four directions, forwards and backwards.
A piece that is crowned during a jump stops there. Its turn ends even if another capture would be open to the new king (how to get a king).
Winning the game
You win by capturing all of your opponent’s pieces, or by leaving them with no legal move on their turn. A player whose remaining pieces are all blocked loses, even if some pieces are still on the board (what if you can’t move).
Draws
The game is drawn when 40 moves in a row pass without a capture, counting both players’ turns, so 20 moves each. Only a capture resets the count; crowning a king does not. See how a checkers game ends in a draw.
Checkers rules as played here
These are the standard American (English) checkers rules, with the details above applied exactly as the game enforces them. Other versions, such as international draughts, differ on points like flying kings and backward captures by men.
To put the rules to work, read the checkers strategy guide, or play checkers free with a friend or the computer. No sign-up.
Checkers rules questions
Is capturing mandatory in checkers?
Yes. If any of your pieces can jump, you must jump; no plain move is allowed that turn. You may choose which capture to make, not just the longest one.
Read the full answer →Can checkers move backwards?
Only kings can. An ordinary piece moves and jumps diagonally forward only. Once crowned, a king moves and jumps diagonally in all four directions.
Read the full answer →How do you get a king in checkers?
Move a piece to the far row of the board to crown it. A newly crowned piece stops there for that turn, even if another jump would have been available.
Read the full answer →Can you jump more than once in checkers?
Yes. If your piece lands where it can jump again it must keep going, and the whole chain is one turn. A piece that is crowned mid-chain stops.
Read the full answer →How does a game of checkers end in a draw?
A checkers game is drawn when 40 moves in a row pass without a capture. Trindo counts both players’ turns, so that is 20 moves each.
Read the full answer →What if you can’t move in checkers?
You lose. A player with no legal move on their turn loses, whether every piece was captured or the pieces they have left are simply blocked.
Read the full answer →Play Checkers free →Invite a friend or practice with the computer. No sign-up.