This guide teaches American checkers, also called English draughts, on an eight-by-eight board. Each player begins with twelve pieces on the dark squares. Ordinary pieces move and capture diagonally forward, captures are compulsory, and a piece reaching the far row becomes a king. Kings can move and capture diagonally in either direction, but they do not slide freely across the board.
Choose the variant before setting up Different draughts games use different board sizes, capture rules and kings. International draughts, Russian draughts and other variants are not interchangeable with American checkers. A rule remembered from a phone app may belong to another game. Confirm the variant before using this guide to settle a disagreement.
For a first friendly game, use the ordinary opening setup and no clock. Tournament opening restrictions and detailed draw procedures can wait until you understand the basic game. If playing through an app, select American checkers or English draughts explicitly rather than relying on the word ‘checkers’ alone.
Orient the board and place twelve pieces each Place the board with a light square at each player’s near-right corner. Only dark squares are used. Put each player’s twelve pieces on the dark squares of the three rows nearest them, leaving the middle two rows empty. Count the pieces and check that none sits on a light square.
In the standard English-rules convention, the dark or red side moves first, depending on the set’s colors. Agree which physical color represents that side. Color names can be confusing with decorative sets; what matters is identifying the starting player and each player’s forward direction consistently.
Make a simple non-capturing move An uncrowned piece moves one square diagonally forward to an empty dark square. It cannot move sideways, vertically or backward. It also cannot move onto a square already occupied by either side. Move one piece on your turn, then let the opponent move, unless the move is a required multiple capture.
Think of forward as toward the opponent’s starting edge, not toward the top of a diagram regardless of where you sit. If the board is rotated for teaching, point out each side’s direction again. Many beginner errors come from changing perspective while leaving the movement rule unstated.
Look for captures before ordinary moves A capture is available when an opposing piece is diagonally adjacent in a permitted direction and the square immediately beyond it is empty. Jump over the opposing piece onto that empty square and remove the captured piece according to the game’s procedure. You cannot jump your own piece or leap over an empty square as a capture.
If any capture is available, you must capture instead of making an ordinary move. In American checkers, you may choose among available capture routes; you are not required to choose the route taking the largest number of pieces. That maximum-capture rule belongs to some other draughts variants.
Complete a multiple jump After a jump, if the same piece has another legal capture, it must continue. The direction can change between jumps as long as each jump follows the movement rights of that piece. An ordinary uncrowned piece still captures forward only in this variant. A king can capture forward or backward.
Do not stop midway because the next landing square looks strategically uncomfortable. Once you choose a sequence, required follow-on captures must be completed. Check the whole route before starting, including the empty landing square after each opposing piece. A cluster of enemy pieces does not create a capture if there is no legal place to land.
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Promote a piece on the far row An uncrowned piece reaching the opponent’s back row becomes a king, usually shown by stacking a second piece on it. Make the status clear before the next turn. A king moves one diagonal square in either direction when not capturing and jumps adjacent opposing pieces in either direction when capturing.
If an ordinary piece reaches the king row during a capture, the move ends there in American checkers. It does not immediately continue backward as a newly crowned king on the same turn. This is a particularly common point of confusion for people who learned a different draughts variant.
Know how the game ends You win when the opponent has no pieces remaining or cannot make a legal move. Blocking can therefore win even when the opponent still has pieces on the board. A position with no useful progress may be drawn by agreement in a friendly game; organized play has specific repetition and move-count rules.
Avoid declaring a draw merely because both sides have kings. Kings can still be trapped or captured. If you want formal tournament standards, consult the current federation rules rather than inventing a fixed number of moves from memory. Agree on any friendly simplification before the game begins.
Learn to inspect the reply Before making an ordinary move, ask what captures the opponent will have afterward. A move that appears to gain space may leave an immediate jump. Look one turn beyond your intended destination, including whether a capture opens a second jump for the same opposing piece.
Try to keep pieces supporting one another instead of scattering single pieces across the board. The center offers movement options, while edge pieces have fewer routes but may be harder to approach from one side. These are considerations, not automatic rules that make every central move good or every edge move bad.
Practice with small positions Set up one piece for each side to demonstrate a legal jump, then add a second opposing piece to create a multiple jump. Next, place a king and compare its backward capture with an ordinary piece’s restrictions. Small examples make the rules visible without the clutter of a full board.
After a friendly game, choose one turning point and replay it slowly. Ask whether the mistake was overlooking a compulsory capture, failing to see a reply, or confusing king movement. Working on a specific error teaches more than immediately starting another rushed game with the same misunderstanding.
Questions beginners ask Can an ordinary piece capture backward? Not in American checkers or English draughts.
Must I take the longest available jump sequence? No. You may choose an available capture route, but must complete the required continuation on that route.
Can kings fly across several empty squares? No. Kings in this variant move one square diagonally and capture by jumping adjacent pieces.
Sources and further reading
World Checkers/Draughts Federation: English rules
North Carolina Checkers: WCDF rules
Useful supplies
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