kitkode.

Strategy guide · Checkers

See the jump, then the turn.

English draughts is a game of compulsory choices. Scan every capture, compare the full chains, protect your kings and keep the win condition in view: leave the opponent with no legal move.

Play on Google Play Open the Checkers game page
Checkers game artwork
Eight by eight. Captures come first.

Know this variant

Standard English draughts

This is American checkers, also called English draughts: exactly two players use an 8×8 board with 12 men each on dark squares. A seeded assignment chooses Red, and Red moves first. Men step and capture diagonally forward; kings step and capture in both directions.

  1. Captures are compulsory. If any capture exists, an ordinary step is illegal.
  2. Choose any capture. When several are available, the longest sequence is not required.
  3. Continue the same piece. After a jump, it must keep jumping while a legal jump remains.
  4. Promotion ends the turn. Reaching the far row crowns a man and immediately ends that turn.

Scan before moving

Count the whole forced chain

Start every turn by scanning all of your men and kings for captures. If there are options, compare what each first jump forces afterwards: material won, king safety, exposed pieces and the opponent’s reply. You may choose a shorter sequence, but choose it knowingly.

Checkers capture showing a compulsory chained jump with the same selected piece and a highlighted continuation
Scan every piece on the live board. A compulsory chained jump is active: the same piece stays selected and its highlighted continuation must be taken while another jump remains.

Build the position

Trade with a reason

When ahead, trade pieces safely and keep connected men that protect each other. Connected pieces cover landing squares and make forced captures less dangerous. When behind, complicate the position: preserve active kings, seek a forcing chain and avoid exchanges that remove your only counterplay.

Use the centre for mobility, but do not treat the edge as automatically bad. A supported edge man can be hard to approach; an isolated centre man can be a target. Keep a back-row guard when it stops an immediate promotion, then release it when the timing is safe.

Finish accurately

Promote, block, and count draws

Promotion timing matters because reaching the far row immediately ends the turn, even if the new king could capture backward. Do not assume a fresh king gets a bonus jump. In the endgame, a win comes from capturing the last piece or leaving the opponent with no legal move, including a blocked army.

Keep the draw rules visible: the same board and player to move three times is a draw, or the game draws after 80 completed turns without a capture while both players make only king moves (40 consecutive moves each). Trade when ahead, complicate when behind, and never let a forced chain hide the move count.

On replay, the seeded assignment swaps Red, so the player who moved first last round does not automatically start again.

Keep the scan honest

Common mistakes

  • Moving before checking captures. One overlooked jump makes an ordinary step illegal.
  • Assuming longest capture is mandatory. Any legal first capture may be chosen.
  • Switching pieces mid-chain. The same piece must continue while a jump exists.
  • Expecting a promotion jump. Reaching the far row crowns and ends the turn immediately.
  • Ignoring blocked wins and draws. Check legal moves, repetition and the 80-turn king-only limit.

Ready?

See the compulsory move first.

There is no guaranteed win, only a better scan: captures, chains, kings, blocks and draw counts. Then try the Checkers mini page on Google Play.

Play on Google Play