Board Games
How to play Checkers
Slide your pieces diagonally, jump to capture, and crown anything that reaches the far row. You win by taking every enemy piece or leaving your opponent with no legal move. The one rule beginners skip, that captures are compulsory, is the rule the whole game is built on.
By K.R. · Updated October 2026 · Sources and editorial process
What you need
An 8×8 board of 64 alternating light and dark squares, plus 12 dark and 12 light pieces. Official WCDF sets use a green-and-white board with red and white pieces, and older books call the sides Black and White, but any contrasting set works. Only the 32 dark squares are used. You will also want a few spare pieces nearby for crowning; captured pieces usually do the job.
Missing pieces, or need a fresh copy? Miniature Market stocks current editions; compare the edition and component list against the rules here before you buy. (Affiliate link: we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. How links work.)
Set up the board
- Turn the board so each player has a dark playing square at the near left and a light square at the near right. If your board is the wrong way round, the pieces end up on the light squares and every diagonal is off.
- Place your 12 pieces on the dark squares of the three rows nearest you.
- Leave the two middle rows empty. Each side should have four pieces in each of its three rows.
- Choose colors at random for the first game, by coin toss or by hiding one piece of each color in your fists. Alternate colors for every game after that.
- The dark side moves first. In the WCDF standard set that is Red.
Players and books refer to the dark squares by number, 1 to 32. Red's pieces start on 1 to 12 and White's on 21 to 32. The diagram below shows the numbers; you will need them to follow the sample game.
Playing checkers, move by move
- Ordinary move. An uncrowned piece (a "man") moves one square diagonally forward, left or right, onto an empty dark square.
- Capture by jumping. If an enemy piece sits diagonally in front of your man with an empty square directly beyond it, jump over it to land on that empty square. Remove the jumped piece. Men capture forward only.
- Captures are compulsory. If you have any capture available anywhere on the board, you must take one. You cannot make a quiet move instead.
- Keep jumping. If the piece that just jumped can jump again from its landing square, it must continue until no more jumps are possible. When you have a choice between different captures, you may choose any of them, not necessarily the one that takes the most pieces, but you must finish the sequence you start. A piece can only be jumped once in a sequence, and captured pieces come off at the end.
- Crowning. A man that reaches the far row becomes a king, and that ends the turn, even in the middle of a jumping sequence. Mark it by stacking a second piece of the same color on top.
- Kings move both ways. A king moves one square diagonally forward or backward and can capture forward or backward. It does not fly across the board; that is a rule from other draughts games.
- Winning. You win when your opponent cannot move on their turn, either because all their pieces are gone or because every remaining piece is blocked. You also win if they resign.
- Draws. The players can agree to a draw. Under WCDF rules a draw can also be shown when the same position is about to occur for the third time, or when neither player has advanced a man toward the king row and no piece has been captured in each player's previous 40 moves.
A sample opening, move by move
Notation lists the starting and ending square numbers. A dash is a normal move; an "x" is a capture.
- Red 11-15. A standard first move toward the center.
- White 22-18. White places a piece directly in front of Red's 15, with square 22 now empty behind it. This is an offer, and Red cannot refuse it.
- Red 15x22. Compulsory. Red jumps the piece on 18 and lands on 22.
- White 25x18. Now White has a compulsory capture too. White had two options, 25x18 or 26x17, and chose the one that recentralizes. Material is level again, one piece each.
- Red 8-11. Red fills the hole left behind 15, so nothing can jump into its back area.
- White 29-25. White brings a back piece forward to support the front.
- Red 4-8. Red keeps its pieces close together.
- White 25-22. Another supporting move. White's 18 now has a friend behind it.
- Red 12-16. White 24-20. Both sides develop on the side of the board.
Now suppose Red carelessly plays 16-19. White must capture 23x16, and Red has no recapture, so Red is simply a piece down. That is the core skill of checkers: before you move, look at what the forced reply will be. A piece moved forward with no backup is usually a piece given away.
A double jump
Picture a White man on 27, Red men on 23 and 14, and squares 18 and 9 empty. White jumps 27x18, and since another jump is available from 18, it must continue 18x9, taking both. Written as one move: 27x18x9. If square 9 had been on the king row, the man would be crowned there and the turn would end, even if a further jump were available.
Keeping score in a match
A single game is a win, loss or draw. There is no point count for pieces left over. For a match at home, a simple convention (this is a house method, not a WCDF rule) is to play an even number of games so both players get Red equally often, and score 1 for a win and ½ for a draw.
Worked example. Sam and Priya play four games, alternating colors. Game 1: Sam wins as Red (Sam 1, Priya 0). Game 2: drawn by agreement (1½–½). Game 3: Priya wins as Red (1½–1½). Game 4: Priya wins again, by blocking Sam's last two kings in a corner so he has no legal move (1½–2½). Priya takes the match 2½ to 1½. Notice that game 4 was won without capturing every piece; a blocked position counts the same as a wipe-out.
Tournament players use the same win and draw outcomes, plus clocks, recorded moves and, at expert level, randomly drawn opening moves known as a three-move ballot, so the strongest players do not keep repeating the same safe openings.
Checkers tactics for beginners
- Look at the forced reply before every move. Because captures are compulsory, every move you make can force your opponent to jump, and every move they make can force you. Ask, "If I move here, what must they do, and what can I do after?"
- Keep your back row as long as you can. Pieces on your back row stop enemy men from crowning. Many players keep two back-row pieces, often on squares 1 and 3 for Red or 30 and 32 for White, deep into the game.
- Move in pairs and groups. A piece with a friend diagonally behind it cannot be jumped from the front, because there is no empty landing square. Lone runners get picked off.
- Control the center. Pieces in the middle squares (14, 15, 18, 19) have two forward moves and support each other. Pieces on the edge have only one direction to go, though they cannot be jumped from the side.
- Use the forced capture as a weapon. Giving up one piece to force a jump that opens a double jump for you is the basic tactic of the game. It only works if you count the whole sequence, both sides, to the end.
- Get a king, then use it. Kings are strong because they attack backward. Bring a new king back to help your men rather than letting it wander.
- When ahead, trade. Five pieces against four is an edge; two against one is usually a win. Even trades favor the player with more pieces.
Disputes at the checkers board
- "I don't want to jump, so I'll move something else."
- Not allowed. If any capture is available, you must take a capture. Under WCDF tournament rules, missing one gets a caution and the move is taken back; a second offense loses the game.
- "You missed a jump, so I huff your piece."
- Huffing, where the opponent removes the piece that failed to jump, is an old home rule and is not part of the WCDF rules. The modern approach is to replay the move correctly. If your family huffs, agree on it beforehand.
- "I must take the biggest capture."
- No. You may choose any available capture, even the smaller one. You must finish the sequence you choose, though.
- "My man reached the king row in the middle of a jump, so it keeps going as a king."
- No. Reaching the king row crowns the man and ends the turn. It can capture as a king from its next turn.
- "Kings can slide any distance."
- That is international draughts. In English draughts a king moves and jumps one square at a time, just in both directions.
- "Men can capture backward."
- Also from other draughts games. In checkers, men capture forward only.
- "I touched it but I'm moving a different piece."
- Under WCDF rules, touching a playable piece on your turn means you must move it, unless you first said you were adjusting it. Casual games often relax this; decide before you start.
Popular variants and house rules
- Giveaway, or losing checkers (house variant). Same moves and compulsory captures, but the first player to lose all their pieces or get blocked wins. It flips your instincts and is a great teaching tool for forced captures.
- Huffing (old home rule). A player who misses a capture loses the piece that should have jumped. Clearly a house rule; it is not in the WCDF rules.
- Three-move ballot (tournament practice). The first three moves are drawn at random from an approved list, and then the game proceeds normally. Strong home players enjoy it because it forces unfamiliar positions.
- International draughts (a different game). Played on a 10×10 board with 20 pieces each. Kings fly any distance, men capture backward, and you must take the maximum capture. Do not mix its rules into 8×8 checkers.
- Kings-only endgame drill (practice). Set up two kings against one and practice trapping the single king. It teaches the endgame that decides many close games.
Getting a new player going in five minutes
- "Dark square on your left corner. All the pieces go on dark squares, three rows each."
- "Red goes first. You move one square diagonally forward."
- "If my piece is right in front of yours with an empty square behind it, you jump over and take it."
- "Here's the big rule: if you can jump, you have to. Even if you don't want to."
- "If you can jump again after landing, keep going in the same turn."
- "Reach my back row and you get a king. We stack a second piece on it. Kings can go backward too."
- "You win when I can't move, either because I've got nothing left or everything's stuck."
Then play a game where you point out every forced capture before it happens. By the second game, they will be setting traps for you.
Ages and group size
Checkers is a two-player game, listed here for ages 6 and up. Most six-year-olds manage the moves quickly; the compulsory capture is the rule they need reminding about for a few games. It is a good first strategy game before chess because there are only two kinds of piece. For groups, set up several boards and run a round-robin or a "winner stays" ladder. A casual game takes 15 to 30 minutes; well-matched adults can go longer, especially in endgames with several kings.
Check yourself
You can jump one piece on the left or two pieces in a row on the right. Which must you take?
Either. You choose the capture, but you must complete the whole sequence you start.
Your man jumps onto the king row and could jump again backward. Does it?
No. Crowning ends the turn.
Your opponent has three pieces left, but none of them can move. Who wins?
You do. A player who cannot make a legal move on their turn loses.
Checkers questions people search
Do you have to jump in checkers?
Yes. Under the official rules, if a capture is available you must make one.
Can regular pieces move or jump backward?
No. Only kings move and capture backward. Men move and capture forward only.
Who goes first in checkers, red or black?
The dark side. In WCDF sets the dark pieces are red, so Red moves first. In sets with black and red pieces, the darker color usually goes first; agree before playing.
Can a king jump more than one piece?
Yes. A king makes multiple jumps just like a man, in any diagonal direction, one jump at a time, and must continue while jumps remain.
Can you jump your own pieces?
No. You only jump enemy pieces, and only onto an empty square.
How do you win if both players still have pieces?
Block every one of your opponent's pieces so they have no legal move on their turn.
Is checkers the same as draughts?
Checkers is the American name for English draughts. Other draughts games, such as the international 10×10 version, use different boards and rules.
Sources and edition notes
English draughts / American checkers on an 8×8 board. This is not international 10×10 draughts. Board orientation, setup and colors follow WCDF rules 1.4 to 1.13; moves and captures follow rules 1.14 to 1.21; touch-move and illegal moves follow rules 1.23 to 1.26; wins and draws follow rules 1.29 to 1.32. The opening sequence in the sample was checked move by move for legality. Strategy notes, giveaway, huffing and match scoring are common practice, not WCDF rules.
Sources rechecked October 22, 2026. This records a document check, not a claim of hands-on testing.
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