Checkers online

Checkers in your browser, with the standard rules

This checkers online board plays the game known as draughts in the UK and checkers in the US: an 8 × 8 board, 12 pieces each, short-moving kings. Play against the computer on "Easy", "Medium" or "Hard", or two players on one device. International draughts on a 10 × 10 board is one click away. Nothing is sent anywhere: the game in progress and your stats stay in your browser, and an unfinished game comes back when you return.

How to play

1. Pick the "Rules" ("English 8 × 8" by default) and the "Mode". Against the computer, set the "Level" and the side under "You play": your pieces are always at the bottom of the board.
2. Tap a piece and its landing squares get a dot. Tap one to move. For a multiple jump, tap the final square, or go one jump at a time: captured pieces stay on the board, dashed, until the move ends.
3. On a keyboard, the arrow keys move between dark squares, Enter or Space picks and plays, Esc cancels the pick. You can also type a move into "Type a move", such as 11-15.
4. "Undo move" takes back your last move and the computer's reply. "Copy moves" copies the scored game.

The rules used here

• Start: Black on squares 1 to 12, White on 21 to 32, and Black moves first.
• Men move one square diagonally forward and capture forward only.
• Jumping is compulsory, but when several captures are open you may pick any of them, even a shorter one. A multiple jump, once started, must be finished.
• Kings move and jump one square at a time, forward or backward.
• Crowning: a man that reaches the far row becomes a king and its move ends there, even mid-jump.
• End: a player with no legal move loses. The game is drawn when the same position comes up three times, or after 40 moves each without a capture or a man move.

International draughts differs a lot: 50 playable squares, 20 men each, White moves first, men may capture backward, kings fly along whole diagonals, and you must take the largest number of pieces. A man only becomes a king if it ends its move on the far row. Draws come after 25 king moves each without a capture or man move, plus two short endgame rules.

Notation

The 32 dark squares are numbered from Black's side, left to right: 1 to 4 on the top row, 29 to 32 at the bottom. A move is written with a dash, a capture with an x. A well-known start: 11-15 22-18 15x22 25x18, an even trade of one piece each. Black has exactly 7 possible first moves. Tick "Square numbers" to show them on the board.

Three tips

• Keep your back row: men on 30 and 32 for White (1 and 3 for Black) stop the other side from crowning cheaply.
• Hold the centre: squares 14, 15, 18 and 19 give your men room and block attacks.
• Use the forced jump: offer a piece to drag an enemy man where you can take two. A piece ahead, trade down: the fewer pieces left, the more the extra one counts.

FAQ

Why can't I move the piece I want?

A capture is available somewhere else. Jumping is compulsory, so only pieces that can jump may move; they are ringed on the board.

How strong is the computer?

"Easy" picks a random legal move. "Medium" looks two moves ahead. "Hard" searches deeper for up to one second, scoring material (a king is worth one and a half men), how far men have advanced, the centre and the back row.

Can I finish a game later?

Yes. Every move is saved on your device, so the game and its move list come back when you open the page again.

Is this checkers or draughts?

Both: the US and the UK use the same 8 × 8 rules under two names. Many other countries play on 10 × 10, which is the "International" option.