How to play Checkers

Checkers (also called draughts) is a classic strategy board game played on the dark squares of an 8x8 board. You control the red pieces against the computer's black army. Tap one of your pieces to see its legal moves highlighted, then tap a highlighted square to move. Regular pieces slide one square diagonally forward. Capture an enemy piece by jumping over it into the empty square beyond — and in standard American checkers rules, captures are mandatory: if a jump is available anywhere on the board, you must take it. If your jumping piece lands where another jump is possible, it must keep jumping in the same turn, chaining multiple captures together.

Reach the far side of the board and your piece is crowned a king. Kings move and capture diagonally in all four directions, which makes them the most powerful pieces in the game. You win a game of checkers online when your opponent has no pieces left or no legal moves remaining. Smart checkers strategy: keep your back row intact early to deny easy kings, advance pieces in pairs so they defend each other, control the center squares, and use the forced-capture rule to bait your opponent into bad trades. The computer opponent looks several moves ahead, so plan your jumps carefully.

Want to play checkers with a friend? Switch to 2 Players mode for free pass-and-play draughts on one device — red and black take turns on the same screen, no download or account needed.