The quick version
Play on the dark squares. A capture is compulsory whenever available. Win by taking every opposing piece or leaving the opponent unable to move on their turn.
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Set up and choose the finish
Place the eight-by-eight board with a dark square at your near-left corner. Each player puts 12 single pieces on the dark squares of their nearest three rows; leave the middle two rows empty. Choose colors by chance. With a black-and-red set, Black moves first; with WCDF red-and-white colors, Red is the starting side.
One game ends when a player has no legal move, no pieces, or resigns. Their opponent wins. A draw can be agreed; it can also be claimed on the third occurrence of the same position with the same player to move, or after each player has made 40 moves without advancing an uncrowned piece or capturing anything. For a casual rematch, rebuild the layout and exchange colors.
Move, jump, and crown
Make the first move
The starting player slides one single piece diagonally forward onto an adjacent empty dark square. Players then alternate. Forward always means toward your opponent's back row; there are no sideways or straight-ahead moves.
Check every capture before sliding
If any of your pieces can jump a diagonally adjacent opponent onto the empty square immediately beyond it, you must capture. Single pieces jump forward only. You cannot jump your own piece, cross an occupied landing square, or choose a noncapturing move when a capture exists.
Complete the chain
A jump removes the opposing piece. If the same jumping piece has another legal jump, continue with it; the complete chain is one turn. When several captures or branches are available, choose any legal route, but finish that route. You need not choose the route that captures the most pieces.
Crown at the far row
Reaching your opponent's back row crowns the piece: stack a spare same-color checker on it. Crowning ends your turn, including when reached during a jump. The new king may move or jump backward only from its next turn.
Use kings without flying
A king slides one diagonal square forward or backward and captures by jumping one adjacent enemy onto the empty square beyond. It can change direction in a capture chain. It does not slide several squares as kings do in some other draughts games.
Count legal moves, not just pieces. A player can still have several checkers and lose because every destination is occupied or inaccessible.
Help both players see the board
Demonstrate a two-jump sequence with spare pieces before the first scored game. Keep captured pieces beside the board so they are ready for crowns. This is useful with flat sets where a new king otherwise looks like an ordinary piece.
For an informal teaching game, agree to point out a missed compulsory jump and restore the position before the next player moves. That is a suggested learning policy. Avoid introducing tournament forfeits into a first friendly game. Ask spectators to save move suggestions until the game ends.
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Ideas & Twists
Choose a variation together before you start.
Checkers · See main rules
Suggested house variationFirst king wins
Use the usual starting position and all compulsory-capture rules, but the first player to crown a piece wins immediately. Capturing or blocking the opponent still wins sooner. Ordinary draw conditions remain. Play twice with colors exchanged; award one point for a win and half for a draw, sharing a tied match. This changes the goal toward reaching the far row.
Checkers · See main rules
Suggested house variationGiveaway checkers
Keep the same movement, crowning, and mandatory jumps, but reverse the objective: the player who has no pieces or no legal move on their turn wins. Set traps that force your opponent to capture you. An agreed draw or the stated repetition/40-move draw still ends level. Rebuild the full layout and switch colors between games.
About this guide
American/English rules are selected, not international draughts. Federation and manufacturer sets name their starting colors differently; identify that side before play. The two alternative objectives and teaching correction policy are suggested house rules.
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