Dark-Square Board • Forced Jumps • Double Jumps • King Promotion
Checkers is played exclusively on the 32 **dark squares** of an 8x8 board. Each player starts with 12 men!
Pieces stay strictly on dark squares and move diagonally forward.
Reaching the opponent's back row immediately promotes a man into a crowned King!
Official games use numbered dark squares from 1 to 32 to record moves.
Click rule scenarios below to understand mandatory jumping and King movement!
If a jump capture is available on your turn, YOU MUST TAKE IT! Failing to jump is an illegal move in official Checkers.
If after making a jump, your piece lands on a square that can immediately make another jump capture, you MUST continue jumping in the same turn until no further captures are possible!
YES! In all official WCDF (World Checkers Draughts Federation) rules, jumping is strictly mandatory. If you have a choice between single and multi-jumps, you may choose either path, but you MUST capture!
No! Regular men can only move and jump diagonally FORWARD. Only crowned Kings can move and jump both forward and backward.
In standard American Checkers, when an advancing piece reaches the King row during a multi-jump, its move ENDS IMMEDIATELY. The piece is crowned King, but cannot continue jumping backward on that same turn!
In older casual play, if a player overlooked a mandatory jump, their opponent could 'huff' (remove) the piece that failed to jump. In modern tournament rules, huffing is abolished: illegal moves must be taken back and the forced jump executed.
Keep your back row intact (especially squares 1, 2, 3, 4) as long as possible to prevent opponent pieces from getting crowned into Kings!
Occupying central dark squares prevents your opponent from advancing freely and creates dual-flank attack options.
Sacrificing 1 piece to force a mandatory jump into a trap position yields a multi-jump counter-attack!