Checkers
Play checkers (draughts) against the computer — jump, capture and crown your kings.
Options
Difficulty
Status
Your turn
Your pieces
12
Computer’s pieces
12
How to play
- Click one of your red discs to see its legal moves, then click a highlighted square to move.
- Move diagonally forward one square onto an empty dark square.
- Capture by jumping over an adjacent enemy disc to the empty square just beyond it.
- When a capture is possible you must take it, and chained multi-jumps must be played to the end.
- Reach the top row to promote a man into a King that moves and jumps both forward and backward.
- Win by capturing all of the computer’s discs, or by leaving it with no legal move.
Captures are mandatory: if a jump is available, you have to take it.
Reach the far row to crown a King, which moves and captures in every direction.
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About Checkers
Checkers — called draughts outside North America — is a two-player strategy classic played on the dark squares of an 8×8 board. Pieces slide diagonally forward, capture by jumping, and a piece reaching the far row is crowned a king that moves and captures in every direction.
This version follows the traditional forced-capture rule: when a jump is available you must take it, and chained multi-jumps must be played to the end. That single rule is what gives checkers its tactical depth, enabling sacrifices that force the opponent into losing exchanges. You play red against a computer with Easy, Medium and Hard levels, free in your browser with nothing to install.
How to use Checkers
- Click one of your red discs to see its legal moves, then click a highlighted square to move.
- Move diagonally forward one square onto an empty dark square.
- Capture by jumping over an adjacent enemy disc into the empty square beyond it.
- When a capture is available you must take it, and multi-jump chains must be completed with the same piece.
- Reach the far row to crown a King, which moves and jumps both forward and backward.
- Win by capturing all the computer’s discs or leaving it without a legal move.
Frequently asked questions
Standard checkers rules make captures mandatory — if a jump exists, it must be taken. Strong players exploit this by sacrificing a piece to force your discs into a longer losing chain, so read jumps before offering them.
A king moves and captures diagonally in all four directions, while an ordinary man only travels forward. Kings dominate the endgame, so racing a piece to the back row is usually worth material risks.
Yes. You also win if the computer has pieces left but no legal move — a blockade victory. The same applies in reverse, so keep at least one mobile piece late in the game.
Keep your back row intact early to deny easy kings, advance in phalanx formations so pieces defend each other, and trade down when ahead in material. Control of the central squares wins more games than edge play.
Yes — tap a disc, then tap a highlighted square. The game is free, browser-based and requires no account.
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