Board games

Checkers

Move and jump diagonally to capture the computer pieces and crown your own as kings.

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Controls

Arrow keys or WASDMove the marker around the board.
Space, Enter or tapPick up one of your pieces, then its destination square.
RStart a new game.

How to play

  1. Press R or tap the board to start. You play the pieces at the bottom and move first.
  2. Move the marker with the arrow keys or WASD, then press space, Enter, or tap to pick up one of your pieces.
  3. Move to an empty dark square, or jump a touching enemy piece into the empty square beyond to capture it. Captures are required.
  4. Reach the far row to be crowned a king, which can move and jump backward. Take all the computer pieces, or leave it no move, to win.

About Checkers

Checkers hides real depth behind a simple move. Pieces step diagonally and capture by jumping over an enemy into the empty square beyond, and a capture is mandatory - you may not quietly decline one to keep your shape. That one rule is the whole game: a tempting jump is often a trap, because the piece you take with lands where it can itself be taken.

Reach the far row and a piece is crowned a king, free to move and jump backward as well, which is usually decisive. The computer looks several moves ahead, takes multi-jumps when the board offers them, and avoids the trades that cost it material. You pick a piece and then its destination with the primary key or a tap. Take all the computer pieces, or leave it no move, to win.

Frequently asked questions

Yes. Captures are mandatory, as in standard checkers, so you may not decline a jump to keep your shape. A tempting jump is often a trap, because the piece you take with can then be taken.

Reach the far row with one of your pieces and it is crowned a king, free to move and jump both forward and backward. A king is usually enough to decide a close game.

While you are here

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The same team builds a set of free, privacy-first data and developer utilities - formatters, converters, validators and calculators - that run in your browser the same way these games do.

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