You play blue, moving up the board. Standard English rules, except captures
are optional: take a jump if you want the piece, or make a simple move instead. Choose how
strong the computer should be.
How To Play Draughts
English draughts on the dark squares of an 8×8 board, 12 pieces each. Men move one square
diagonally forward; you (blue) move up, the computer (red) moves down.
Capturing
Jump diagonally over an adjacent enemy piece into the empty square beyond to capture it.
Captures are optional — you may take a jump or make a simple move instead — but
once you start a jump, the same piece must keep jumping while further jumps exist. You may
choose freely when several captures are possible.
Kings
A man reaching the far row is crowned a king (♛) and may move and capture
diagonally in all four directions. Crowning ends the move.
Winning
You win when the computer has no pieces left or cannot move. The game is drawn after 40
consecutive moves by each side with no capture and no man moved.
About Draughts
Draughts (known as Checkers in North America) is a classic strategy game on the dark squares of a
chessboard: capture by jumping, chain multiple jumps, and crown your men into kings. Play free
against the computer with three difficulty levels — captures are optional, so you choose when to
take a piece. Try Reversi or
Backgammon next, or browse
more free board games.
