Checkers rules and strategy
Updated
How to play this edition
This game uses an 8 by 8 board. Black moves first. Men move and capture diagonally forward; kings can move and capture backward. Captures are mandatory. Continue a jump with the same piece when another capture is available; crowning ends the jump. A player wins when the opponent cannot make a legal move.
A practical first plan
A quiet-looking move can force a capture. Before offering a counter, trace the entire jump sequence, including the landing squares after the first jump. Keep neighbouring counters close enough to support each other and avoid leaving an easy route to the king row.
Computer or online?
On this American checkers board, Easy is the starting computer level. Choose Normal or Hard for a longer look at forced jumps and king moves. Computer games run in this browser, and the local scoreboard stays on this device. Online, the server accepts a turn only when the step or jump is legal, including a mandatory capture. Reloading resumes a match that is still open. An online game ends after ten minutes with no move.
Frequently asked questions
Can I invite a particular friend? A copied link joins the public checkers queue. It does not hold a private board, and it does not promise a game against the friend who sent it.
Can I undo an online move? Take-backs are only for a game against the computer on this device. After the server accepts an online step or jump, that move stays on the shared board, including a captured man or a new king.
Are scores shared between devices? The computer scoreboard belongs to this browser. Checkers has no account, no shared ranking, and no sync of those local results to another device.