How to play
- Pieces move diagonally forward one square onto an empty dark square. Dark moves first.
- Capture by jumping diagonally over an opponent’s piece to the empty square beyond. Captures are compulsory: if you can jump, you must.
- After a jump, keep jumping with the same piece if another capture is available (a multi-jump). Tap the final square to make the whole sequence.
- A man that reaches the far row becomes a king (♛) and can move and capture backward as well as forward.
- You win when your opponent has no pieces or no legal moves. Forty moves each without a capture is a draw.
Strategy tips
- Keep your back row filled as long as you can; it stops enemy men from crowning.
- Control the centre squares – pieces there have more options.
- Move in groups. Lone pieces are easy targets.
- Because captures are forced, you can sacrifice one piece to pull an enemy piece into a position where you jump two.
- When ahead, trade pieces. Each even trade makes your advantage bigger.
Computer levels
Easy looks two moves ahead and sometimes plays at random. Medium plans five moves ahead. Hard searches up to ten moves deep and rarely misses a tactic.
FAQ
Is this the same as Chinese checkers?
No. This is checkers, also called draughts, played on an 8×8 board. Chinese checkers is a different game on a star-shaped board.