西洋跳棋

How to play Checkers

Checkers (also called draughts) is a classic two-player strategy game on an 8×8 board. Each player starts with 12 pieces and tries to capture all of the opponent’s pieces — or leave them with no legal move. It is easy to learn in a minute and takes a lifetime to master. Play a friend on the same screen, or take on the computer at three difficulty levels.

The goal

Win by capturing every one of your opponent’s pieces, or by trapping them so they have no legal move on their turn. Red moves first, then players alternate.

The board

Pieces sit only on the dark squares. Red starts on the three rows nearest the bottom, Black on the three rows nearest the top. All movement is diagonal, so a piece always stays on dark squares.

How pieces move

• Ordinary pieces (“men”) move one square diagonally forward to an empty square — Red moves up the board, Black moves down.
• You capture by jumping diagonally over an adjacent enemy piece into the empty square immediately beyond it. The jumped piece is removed.
• Captures are mandatory: if any capture is available, you must make a capturing move — you cannot make a quiet move instead.
• Multi-jumps: if the piece that just captured can capture again, it must keep jumping in the same turn, chaining as many captures as possible.
• Reach the far row and your man is crowned a King. Kings move and capture one square diagonally in any direction — forward or backward — making them far more powerful.

Winning

You win the moment your opponent has no pieces left, or cannot make any legal move on their turn. Because captures are forced, careful players can set traps that win several pieces at once.

Playing the computer (ranked)

In “Checkers vs Computer” you pick a side and a difficulty — Easy, Normal or Expert. The computer thinks entirely on your device, so it works offline. Beat it to earn ranking points: Easy +10, Normal +30, Expert +100. Sign in and your best result appears on the leaderboard.

Strategy tips

• Control the centre. Pieces in the middle have more options; pieces stuck on the edge can only be captured from one side but also attack less.
• Keep your back row intact as long as you can — it stops the opponent from crowning kings on your side.
• Because captures are forced, you can offer a piece as bait: if the only capture leads your opponent into a multi-jump you set up, you come out ahead.
• Rush to make a king when it’s safe. A single king that can move backward is often worth more than two trapped men.

Frequently asked questions