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The Daily Insight

How do you set up and play checkers?

Author

Sarah Cherry

Updated on April 19, 2026

Place the board so that each player has a lightcolored square on the corner of the board on his or her right side.Place the checkers on the board. Have each playerplace his pieces on the 12 dark squares in the first three rowsclosest to him or her. Each of these three rows should have a totalof 4 checkers.

Also question is, what are the rules for playing checkers?

Each player begins the game with 12 pieces, orcheckers, placed in the three rows closest to him or her.The object of the game is to capture all of your opponent'scheckers or position your pieces so that your opponent hasno available moves. Basic movement is to move a checker onespace diagonally forward.

Also, can you move sideways in Checkers? A piece can move forwards and sideways butnever backwards towards its home space. Only a King may doso. A checker MAY NOT combine a move and jumps on thesame turn. It may either move one space, or make oneor more jumps.

Regarding this, is it mandatory to jump in checkers?

In modern checkers, all jumps must betaken. Reinfeld does not mention forced jumps in his rules,however, elsewhere in the book, p. 18, he makes it clear that“In checkers, captures are compulsory.”In American checkers, a jump must be made only overan adjacent piece. A piece cannot jump over emptysquares.

Can you jump your own pieces in Checkers?

Jumping a checker On your turn, if your checker is next toyour opponent's checker, and the black square behindyour opponent's checker is open, you mustjump over it. You may not jump over yourown checkers. You can jump and capture a king the sameway as you jump and capture a regularchecker.

Related Question Answers

What happens in checkers when you can't move?

[Checkers is a board game played between twoplayers, who alternate moves. The player who cannotmove, because he has no pieces, or because all of his piecesare blocked, loses the game. Players can resign or agree todraws.]

What can kings do in checkers?

King Movement If no jump is available, the Kingcan move any distance, forward or backward, along anunobstructed diagonal. It must land in an unoccupied square. Inthis picture, the red King can move to any square with ayellow dot. Capturing or Jumping A piece can captureopposing pieces by jumping over them.

What are the rules of Draughts?

The pieces move and capture diagonally forward, untilthey reach the opposite end of the board, when they are crowned andcan thereafter move and capture both backward and forward. As inall forms of draughts, English draughts is played bytwo opponents, alternating turns on opposite sides of theboard.

How many spaces can a king move?

one space

Can you attack backwards in Checkers?

All pieces in the beginning are checkers. Both,checkers and kings, can move only one squareat a time (unless making a capture move) diagonally on the board(so half of the square spaces in the board are essentially unused).Checkers have the additional restriction that they cannotmove backwards.

How do you win at checkers?

Basic Strategies for Winning at Checkers
  1. Control the Center.
  2. Checkers Is Not a Game That Can Be Won by PlayingDefensively.
  3. Your Goal Should Be Getting a Checker to the End of theBoard.
  4. Advance en Masse.
  5. Be Willing to Sacrifice a Checker If Necessary.
  6. Use Forced Moves to Your Advantage.
  7. Leave Your Home Row Checkers Until You Need Them.

Can you jump diagonally in Checkers?

When it's your turn, move one checkerdiagonally forwards. When you can, move one ofyour pieces 2 spaces so you jump over one of youropponents checkers. You can then take the opponent'spiece off the board.

Can you move back in Chinese checkers?

Chinese checkers is a game for two to sixplayers. A player can move her marbles in one of twoways. The first is to move one marble into an empty,adjacent hole. Marbles can be moved in any direction,forward or backward, one hole at a time.

Can you jump a king?

A king can jump diagonally, forward or backward.A piece which is not a king, can only jumpdiagonally forward. You can make a multiple jump (seethe diagram on the right), with one piece only, byjumping to empty square to empty square.

Can a king move diagonally in chess?

A king can move one square in any direction(horizontally, vertically, or diagonally) unless the squareis already occupied by a friendly piece or the move wouldplace the king in check.

Can you go backwards in chess?

While the king can move backwards or forwards,either laterally or diagonally just like a queen, it canonly do so one square at a time (see figure 7). Aking cannot move to a square where it would be indanger of being captured. A king can capture a piece on anysquare where it can legally move.

What does chess not checkers mean?

It means that the player that is "playing chess"is on their game and that they are outwitting their opponents. Theperson playing chess is considered smarter than hisopponents. It is both a way to praise the person playingchess and to a certain extent put down the person/peopleplaying checkers.