How to Play
Checkers is played on the 32 dark squares of an 8×8 board. You and the computer start with twelve pieces each, filling the three rows nearest each player. Choose Dark or Light before the game; Dark always makes the first move, and your pieces are always at the bottom of the screen.
To move, tap one of your pieces and then the square you want it on, or drag it there. The squares it can reach light up. The computer answers after a short pause while it thinks; the Turn box above the board shows when it's working.
This page is the Medium computer: it looks several moves ahead, rarely leaves a piece hanging and punishes loose play, but it can be outplanned. Easy and Hard are one tap away above the game.
Rules
- An ordinary piece (a man) moves one square diagonally forward onto an empty square.
- You capture by jumping diagonally over an enemy piece next to you onto the empty square beyond it. The jumped piece is removed.
- Capturing is compulsory. If one of your pieces can jump, you must jump, and if it can jump again from where it lands, it must keep going.
- Men capture forward only. A man that reaches the far row becomes a king, and that ends its move even if another jump were possible.
- A king moves and captures one square at a time in all four diagonal directions.
- You win when your opponent has no pieces left or no legal move. It's a draw after 40 moves by each side without a capture or a man moving, or when the same position comes up three times.
Tips & Strategy
Keep your back row
Men on your home row stop the computer from crowning. Move them last, and it has to fight much harder for a king.
Trade when you're ahead
One piece up, swap pieces one for one. The fewer pieces left, the more that extra man decides the game.
Watch for forced jumps
Because captures are compulsory, you can offer a piece to pull an enemy man onto a square where you then take two.
FAQ
Can I take a move back?
Yes. Undo takes back your last move together with the computer's reply, as often as you like.
Is this game ranked?
No. Medium keeps your own record here: games won, lost and drawn, and your winning streak. The leaderboard is for Hard.
Why can't I move the piece I picked?
Another of your pieces has a capture, and capturing is compulsory. Those pieces are ringed on the board.