About Checkers
Checkers is the classic game of diagonal moves, forced jumps and crowned kings — and you can play checkers online here for free, against the computer or a friend on the same device. It is the American version of draughts, played on an 8×8 board with 12 pieces each.
Choose from four computer levels. Easy is relaxed and makes human-like slips, Medium looks four moves ahead, Hard searches seven moves deep, and Expert thinks at least nine moves ahead and keeps going as long as its time allows. The computer thinks in the background, so the board stays smooth even while it calculates.
Beat the Hard or Expert computer to start a win streak and climb the global leaderboard. Prefer company? Switch to 2 Players and pass the device back and forth. Your game is saved automatically, so you can close the tab and pick up exactly where you left off.
How to play Checkers
- 1
Set up and move
Each side starts with 12 pieces on the dark squares of the three rows closest to them. Red moves first. On your turn, move one piece a single square diagonally forward onto an empty dark square.
- 2
Jump to capture
If an opponent's piece is diagonally next to yours with an empty square behind it, jump over it to capture it. Captures are compulsory — when a jump is available you must take one. Pieces that can capture glow, so you'll never miss a forced jump.
- 3
Chain multiple jumps
After a capture, if the same piece can jump again, it must keep going in the same turn. You may choose which route to take when there is more than one. Tap each landing square in order (or just the final square when the route is unambiguous) and watch every hop play out.
- 4
Crown a king
When one of your pieces reaches the far row it is crowned and becomes a king. Kings move and jump diagonally both forward and backward. If a piece is crowned in the middle of a jump sequence, its turn ends there.
- 5
Win the game
You win when your opponent has no pieces left or cannot make a legal move. The game is a draw if the same position appears three times, or if 40 moves pass for each player without a capture or an uncrowned piece moving.
Controls
| Input | Action |
|---|---|
| Click / tap | Select a piece, then tap a glowing square to move |
| Drag | Drag a piece to its destination |
| Multi-jumps | Tap each landing square in turn, or tap the final square if there is only one route |
| Arrow keys + Enter | Move the cursor and select or move a piece |
| U or Backspace | Undo — takes back your move and the computer’s reply, or cancels a half-finished multi-jump |
| Esc | Deselect the current piece |
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Checkers tips and strategy
Guard your back row
Pieces on your back row stop the opponent from crowning. Keep them at home as long as you can — especially the two squares a king most often tries to reach — and move them only when the rest of your position is safe.
Control the center
Pieces in the middle of the board have more options and restrict your opponent. Advance toward the center early rather than creeping along the edges, where pieces can move in only one direction.
Keep your pieces together
Pieces that protect each other from behind can't be jumped. Advance in pairs or small groups, and before every move check whether you are leaving a gap that allows a jump — or worse, a double jump.
Use forced jumps as traps
Because captures are compulsory, you can offer a piece on purpose to drag an enemy piece onto a square where you get two or three back. These combinations, called shots, are how strong players win material.
Trade when you're ahead
Every even trade makes a material lead count for more. If you are a piece up, simplify the position; if you are behind, avoid trades and look for tactics instead.
Get a king — then use it
A king is worth far more than a regular piece because it can attack from behind. Once you have one, bring it into the action to hunt loose pieces rather than leaving it parked on the back row.
Computer levels and the win streak
The four levels use the same engine at different strengths:
- Easy looks only a move or two ahead and sometimes plays a random move — perfect for learning the rules.
- Medium searches four moves ahead with a little variety in its choices.
- Hard searches seven moves ahead and rarely leaves pieces hanging.
- Expert searches at least nine moves ahead and deepens further within a short time limit. Expect a real fight.
Games against Hard and Expert count toward your win streak — the number shown on the leaderboard. Every win adds one and posts your current streak; a loss, resigning, or abandoning a game in progress resets it to zero, while a draw leaves it unchanged. Using Undo in a streak game ends the streak and turns that game into a friendly one, so the leaderboard stays fair. Undo is unlimited in every other mode.
Checkers and draughts around the world
Games of this family have been played in Europe for many centuries. In the United States the game is called checkers; in Britain and much of the Commonwealth the same game is called English draughts. The rules on this page — an 8×8 board, men that move and capture forward only, kings that move one square at a time, and compulsory captures — are the standard American and English rules.
Other popular versions change a few details. International draughts uses a 10×10 board with 20 pieces each, lets regular pieces capture backward, and gives kings long-range "flying" moves. Brazilian, Russian and Turkish draughts have their own twists. In 2007 a research team at the University of Alberta announced that their program Chinook had solved checkers: with perfect play from both sides, the game is a draw.
More games to play
If you enjoy the tactics of checkers, sharpen them further with our Chess Puzzles, or take on the computer at Connect 4 and Tic Tac Toe. You'll find every two-player and strategy game in our board games collection.
Frequently asked questions
Do you have to jump in checkers?
Yes. In standard American checkers, captures are compulsory: if any of your pieces can jump, you must make a jump that turn. If several captures are available you may choose which one to make, and you must complete every jump in the sequence.
Who goes first in checkers?
The player with the darker pieces moves first. On this board that is Red. Against the computer you can choose to play Red and move first, or play White and let the computer open.
Can a regular checker move or capture backward?
No. Uncrowned pieces move and capture only diagonally forward. Once a piece reaches the far row and is crowned, the king can move and capture both forward and backward.
What happens when a piece reaches the last row?
It is crowned and becomes a king — shown here with a gold crown. If it reaches the last row during a multi-jump, the move ends immediately, even if the new king could keep jumping.
How do you win at checkers?
You win by capturing all of your opponent's pieces or by blocking them so they have no legal move. If neither side can make progress, the game is drawn by repetition or by the 40-move rule.
Can I play checkers with a friend?
Yes. Choose 2 Players to play on the same phone, tablet or computer. The board stays the same way up and the status bar shows whose turn it is.
Is checkers a solved game?
Yes. In 2007 researchers behind the Chinook program showed that checkers is a draw when both players make no mistakes. Human players — and our computer levels — still make plenty of decisive errors, so every game is winnable.
Is this checkers game free?
Completely free, with no download or sign-up. Your current game, win streak and settings are saved in your browser.