The game is played on 64-square (classical or American version) or 100-square (international version) square board known as a checkerboard or draughtboard. The game is played on dark squares, so-called active ones.
In the two first variants the opponents receive 12 checkers each. In the international version – 20 checkers each. One player plays with white checkers and the other one with black checkers.
They are situated on black squares only in the closest rows to the player, so that the two inner rows were empty.
There are two kinds of checkers in the game: checkers and Queens.
A checker is called a Queen when it has reached one of the squares of transformation, i.e. one of the four squares in the last opponent’s row (so-called the opponent’s base). A Queen is a privileged checker. A checker, having been transformed into a Queen, is marked with a crown.
The first move is made by the player who plays with white checkers and then the players make moves alternately. Making a move is compulsory.
Checkers move on active (black) squares only, i.e. diagonally; checkers one square forward and Queens any squares diagonally both forward and backward to any unoccupied square in the movement line.
The square a checker can be moved to is highlighted.
If a player’s checker is situated next to the opponent’s checker, with at least one unoccupied square just behind it, the player is obliged to capture the checker. Having jumped over the checker, the checker is removed from the board. Capturing is possible both forward and backward.
If a Queen is situated diagonally in the closer or further vicinity of the opponent’s checker with at least one square unoccupied behind it, the Queen is obliged to capture the checker. Then the Queen is placed on any unoccupied square behind the captured checker.
Both a checker and a Queen are allowed to capture more than one checker in one move. The capturing checker can pass across the same square more than once but it cannot capture the same checker more than once. Capturing one’s own checkers is not allowed.
Captured checkers are removed from the board just after finishing the multiple capturing (so-called Turkish capturing rule).
Capturing is obligatory and comes before any other checkers’ move (so-called compulsory capturing rule).
If there is a choice between different numbers of the opponent’s checkers to be captured, it is compulsory to capture the higher number of checkers (so-called capturing majority rule). A Queen is not privileged to capture before a checker.
If a player has two or more possibilities of capturing the same number of checkers, one of the possibilities is chosen.
If, while capturing, a checker passes across one of the four transformation squares and can continue capturing, it is not transformed into a Queen and remains a checker.
American rules differ from classical and international rules by two elements:
Checkers are allowed to capture forwards only
A Queen is allowed to move only one square diagonally (in any direction).
The other rules remain unchanged.
GAME OVER
The game can be finished by one player’s winning or a draw.
The game is over when:
One of the players wins by capturing all the opponent’s checkers.
There is a draw; it happens when there are two or two pairs of opposite Queens on the board. In both cases, if after 60 moves there is no change (e.g. one of the Queens is captured) the game is stopped automatically. There is also a draw when there are two Queens against one on the board but only when the single one is alone on the longest diagonal of the board.
One player wins by blocking the opponent, i.e. prevents the opponent from performing a single move with any of the checkers.
