The rules

How to play checkers

Checkers takes five minutes to learn. Here are all the rules, each with a board you can try it on. They’re the standard American rules, also called English draughts.

By the Checky team · Updated 4 November 2026

Short answer

Each player has 12 pieces on the dark squares. You take turns moving one piece diagonally forward. If you can jump an enemy piece, you must. Reach the far side and your piece becomes a king, which can move backwards too. You win when your opponent has no move left.

The board and the pieces

Checkers is played on the same 8×8 board as chess, but only on the 32 dark squares. Each player starts with 12 pieces, called men, on the dark squares of their first three rows. Turn the board so that each player has a dark square in the corner on their left.

One side has dark pieces and the other light. On a shop-bought set they’re often black and red, or black and white. On Checky they’re Ink and Pink.

A checkers board at the start, with the dark squares numbered 1 to 32 — The start. The squares are numbered 1 to 32, which is how checkers moves are written: 11-15 means the man on 11 moves to 15.

Who goes first

The dark side moves first. In the official rules that’s Black. On Checky it’s Ink. After that you take turns, one move each.

How men move

A man moves one square diagonally forward, onto an empty dark square. Men can never move backwards.

A checkers board at the start of a game — Press Next to step through the first moves of a game.

Jumping, and why you have to

You take an enemy piece by jumping it. If it’s diagonally next to your man, with an empty square straight behind it, jump over it to that square and take it off the board. Men jump forwards only.

The rule that makes checkers what it is: if you can jump, you must. You can’t ignore a jump to make a different move. This is why you can often force your opponent to move where you want.

A checkers position where Ink must jump — A forced jump, then a forced jump back.

If you have more than one jump, you choose which. You don’t have to take the one that wins the most pieces.

A checkers position where Ink has two jumps to choose from — Your turn: tap a piece, then the square to move it to.

Double jumps

A jump doesn’t have to stop at one. If your man lands where it can jump again, it carries on in the same move, and you have to finish the whole jump. One move can take two, three or more pieces.

A checkers position with a double jump for Ink

Kings

When a man reaches the far row, it’s crowned: it becomes a king. With a real set you put a second piece on top of it. A king moves and jumps one square diagonally, forwards or backwards.

One thing catches people out: a man that reaches the far row in the middle of a jump stops there. Being crowned ends the move, even if the new king could jump again.

A checkers position where Ink’s man is about to be crowned — A man crowns, and the new king walks back.

How you win

You win when your opponent can’t move. Usually that’s because you’ve taken all their pieces, but you can also win by blocking them so that none of their pieces has a move.

A checkers ending where Ink can block Pink’s last man

How a game is drawn

A game is a draw if both players agree to one, which happens when neither side can make progress. On Checky a game is also drawn when the same position comes up three times, or after 40 moves each with no jump and no man moving. Tournaments use rules much like these.

Rules that people get wrong

“You can skip a jump.” Not in the official rules. Jumps are compulsory.
“Huffing.” An old rule let you take away a piece that failed to jump. It isn’t used any more, because a jump you miss simply isn’t allowed.
“Men can jump backwards.” Not in American checkers, but they can in international draughts, the 10×10 game played in much of Europe.
“Kings can fly across the board.” Also international draughts. In checkers a king moves one square at a time.
“You have to take the most pieces.” Another international rule. In checkers you pick whichever jump you like.

Play a whole game

Here’s a full board with every rule built in. Play both sides yourself, or pass your phone to a friend. It will tell you when you have to jump.

A checkers board ready for a new game — Pass and play. Ink moves first.

Want someone to play against? Checky has 40 bots, from Pip, who’s just learning, to masters. You can also take the Rules lesson in the app, or try puzzles from real games.

Questions people ask

Do you have to jump in checkers?

Yes. If you can jump, you must. If you have more than one jump, you choose which one.

Can kings move backwards in checkers?

Yes. A king moves and jumps one square diagonally, forwards or backwards. Ordinary men only move forwards.

Can a man jump backwards?

No, not in American checkers. Only kings can. Men can jump backwards in international draughts, which is a different game.

Who goes first in checkers?

The dark side. In the official rules that’s Black; on Checky it’s Ink.

What happens if you can’t move?

You lose. A player with no legal move has lost, whether they have pieces left or not.

Is checkers the same as draughts?

Yes. Checkers is the American name for the game the British call draughts, also known as English draughts. International draughts is a different game, on a 10×10 board.

Does a man keep jumping after it’s crowned?

No. When a man reaches the far row, it’s crowned and the move ends there.