How to Play Checkers
Checkers (also known as Draughts) is a classic strategy game played on an 8x8 board using only the dark squares. Each player starts with 12 pieces. Regular pieces move diagonally forward one square. Jumping over an opponent's piece captures it, and jumps are mandatory when available -- including multi-jumps in a single turn.
When a piece reaches the opponent's back row, it becomes a King and can move diagonally in any direction. The game ends when one player captures all opposing pieces or when a player cannot make a legal move. PlayVersusAI uses standard American/British checkers rules.
Strategy Tips
- Control the center -- Central pieces have more mobility and options than pieces stuck on the edges.
- Keep your back row -- Don't rush all your pieces forward. A strong back row prevents the opponent from getting kings.
- Trade when ahead -- If you have more pieces, trading simplifies the position and makes your advantage more decisive.
- Set traps -- Bait the opponent into making a jump that gives you a double or triple jump in return.
- Get kings early -- A king is worth significantly more than a regular piece because of its backward movement ability.
Read the full Checkers guide →
Playing Checkers on PlayVersusAI
This is American checkers (also called English draughts) on the standard 8x8 board, with the rules enforced as written rather than as commonly misremembered. Captures are compulsory: if a jump is available you must take it, and if a jump chains into another jump you must keep going. Men move and capture forwards only until they reach the far rank and are crowned, after which kings move both ways.
Forced capture is what gives checkers its real depth, and it is also what the AI exploits. Because you have no choice but to take an offered piece, a good player can give up a man to drag your piece onto a square where a longer chain is waiting. The engine looks for exactly these sacrifices, so a piece offered to you on this board is very often bait.
What's on This Page
- Four difficulty levels — switch between Easy, Medium, Hard and AI Training at any time, including mid-game.
- Built-in tutorial — an illustrated, step-by-step walkthrough of the rules on the board itself, via the How to Play button.
- Coach mode — live move analysis while you play, plus a full post-game review that marks where the game actually turned.
- Online multiplayer — play a friend in real time using a private room code, or take on a stranger from the public lobby.
- Tracked results — wins count toward your profile statistics and the site leaderboard.
- No account required — the full game is playable as a guest, on desktop, tablet or phone.
Easy will trade pieces evenly and miss multi-jump setups. Medium plays soundly and punishes obvious blunders. Hard begins offering sacrifices to set up chains two or three moves later. On AI Training, expect every loose piece you leave to be taken apart — this is the level where a single careless move cascades into losing three men.
Mistakes That Lose Games
- Taking every capture as a gift. Because captures are compulsory, a piece left in your path is frequently the first move of a trap that costs you more than you gain. Look at what the forced sequence does before you celebrate.
- Rushing men forward to get crowned. An advanced man that is not supported is just a target, and chasing a king often breaks the structure that was holding your side of the board together.
- Emptying the back row too early. The two squares on your own back rank are the hardest for your opponent to crown against. Give them up cheaply and you will be facing kings sooner than you should be.
- Trading pieces while behind. Every even trade increases the relative value of your opponent's extra material. If you are down a man, you need complications, not simplification.
Checkers Questions
Are captures really compulsory?
Yes. This implementation follows standard American checkers rules, so if a capture is legally available you must play it, and multi-jump chains must be completed in full. The board highlights your legal moves, so you will never be left guessing which captures are forced.
Can kings move any distance, like in international draughts?
No. This is the American 8x8 ruleset, where kings move one square diagonally in either direction. Flying kings belong to international draughts, which is a different game on a 10x10 board.
What happens if neither side can force a win?
If the position repeats or progress stalls with neither player able to make headway, the game is declared a draw. In practice, king-versus-king endings with no way through are the usual cause.
For the complete rules, the deeper strategy and the history of the game, read the full Checkers guide, or browse guides for all 20 games.