We play on a square board composed of sixty-four smaller red and black squares, arranged in an 8x8 grid.
Place the board so that a black square is on the left row nearest to you.
Players normally choose colors at random for the first game, and then alternate colors in subsequent games.
We play the game on the black squares. Each player gets twelve pieces of either red or black. Begin with all your peices on the three rows nearest you.
Red moves first. The players take turns moving. You can make only one move per turn. You must move. If you cannot move, you lose.
A piece which is not a king can move one square, diagonally, forward.
A king can move diagonally, forward or backward. A piece or king can only move to a vacant square. A move can also consist of one or more jumps.
Capture an opponent's piece or king by jumping over it, diagonally, to the adjacent vacant square beyond it.
A piece which is not a king can only jump diagonally forward, while a king may jump diagonally forward or backward.
You can make a multiple jump, with one piece only, by jumping to empty square to empty square.
You can only jump one piece, with any given jump, but you can jump several pieces, with a move of several jumps. You remove the jumped pieces from the board.
You cannot jump your own piece. You cannot jump the same piece twice, in the same move.
If you can jump, you must jump.
A multiple jump must be completed. You cannot stop part way through a multiple jump.
If you have a choice of jumps, you can choose among them.
When a piece reaches the last row it becomes a King.
A second checker is placed on top of that one, by the opponent to indicate that it is a king.
A piece that has just kinged, cannot continue jumping pieces, until the next move.
Visit the website of the
American Checkers Federation