Checkers (also called draughts) is one of the oldest board games still widely played today, and our checkers game brings a full rules-correct implementation straight into your browser — no installs, no accounts, just click and play.
Rules enforced
- Standard movement: regular pieces move diagonally forward one square onto an empty dark square.
- Mandatory capture: if any of your pieces has a legal jump available, you must take it — you can’t make a simple move instead. This is checked before every move you attempt.
- Multi-jump chains: after capturing a piece, if the same piece can capture again from its new position, you’re kept in that capture sequence to chain multiple jumps in a single turn, exactly as tournament rules require.
- Kinging: reaching the opposite back row promotes a piece to a king, which can then move and capture diagonally in both directions instead of only forward.
How the computer plays
The AI (Black) always prioritizes captures first — including chaining multiple jumps together when the board allows it — and falls back to a random legal simple move only when no capture is available. If the AI has no legal move at all, the game declares a win for you.
Why mandatory capture matters
Mandatory capture is what separates real checkers from a casual “move a piece diagonally” game — it forces tactical thinking, since leaving a piece exposed to a jump isn’t optional for your opponent to ignore. Learning to read the board for forced-capture traps is a core part of developing real checkers skill.
No setup, just play
The full 8×8 board renders instantly with the classic 12-pieces-per-side starting position. Click a piece to select it (highlighted in yellow), then click a valid destination square to move. Use “New Game” any time to reset the board and start fresh.