Draughts

What is Checkers or Draughts?

Checkers, also known as draughts game, is a family of two-player strategy board games that feature diagonal moves of uniform game pieces and mandatory captures by jumping over opponent pieces. Checkers arose from alquerque. The term "checkers" refers to the game's checkerboard, whereas "draughts" refers to the verb "to draw" or "to move."

Similarities Between Checkers & Draughts

The checkers board game is similar to the draughts game.
The distinction between checkers and draughts is that checkers is a two-player chessboard game in which each player has 12 pieces and the goal is to capture all of the opponent's pieces by hopping over them.
While draughts or draughts board game is for two players in which each player has 20 pieces and the object is to capture each of the opponent's pieces by jumping one's pieces over the opponent's pieces.
Nowadays, the checkers game online version is popular.
Let us have a look at how the game originated and the history of the checkers game.

History of Checkers Game

Historians believe the first form of checkers was played approximately 3,000 B.C.E. Archaeologists discovered it in Ur, an ancient city in Iraq. Those who have researched the history of checkers have also discovered a game known as Alquerque. It was first played in ancient Egypt around 1,400 B.C.E.

How to Play Checkers?

Let us understand how to play checkers.

The checkers board game is played by two opponents on opposite sides of the board.
The dark pieces are in the hands of one player, while the light pieces are in the hands of the other.
The players take turns.
A player is not permitted to move an opponent's piece.
A move is the diagonal movement of a piece to an adjacent unoccupied square.
If an opponent's piece is on the adjacent square and the square immediately beyond it is empty, the piece can be captured and removed from the game, by jumping over it.
Only dark squares are used on the check board.
A piece can only move diagonally into an empty square.
When presented, capturing is mandatory in most official rules, and if the player fails to capture, the opposing player may remove the opponent's piece as a penalty or muffin, and if there are two or more such positions, the player forfeits the position they cannot move.
Capturing is optional in some rule variations.
In almost all variants, the player who has no pieces left or who is unable to move due to being blocked loses the game.
After understanding the basics of how to play checkers, let us have a look at the checkers rules.

Checker Rules

Game Pieces and Board Checkers is a two-person board game played on an 8x8 checked board like the one pictured below.
Each player is given 12 pieces, which are flat circular discs that fit into the boxes on the board.
The pieces are staggered by rows and placed on every other dark square, as depicted on the board.
Each player in the game of Checkers has a distinct color piece.
The pieces can be black and red or red and white at times.
Let us have a look at checker rules in more detail.

Move

The darker colored pieces usually move first.
Each player takes a turn by moving one of their pieces.
Pieces must always be moved diagonally and in the following ways: To the next black square, walk diagonally in the forward direction, towards the opponent.
You leap your opponent and remove their piece if one of their pieces is near to a piece and there is a space on the other side.
If you line up your jumps in a forward direction, you can accomplish numerous jumps.
Please note that you have no choice but to take a jump if you have one.
Pieces of the King The final row is known as the king row.
When a piece crosses the board to the opponent's king row, it becomes a king.
Another piece is stacked on top of that one, making it two pieces tall.
The king pieces can travel forward and backward in both directions.
The player must wait until the next turn to jump out of the king row once a piece has been kinged.

Pieces

Though traditionally made of wood, many pieces are now made of plastic, though other materials may be used.
The majority of the time, the pieces are flat and cylindrical.
They are always divided into two colors, one darker and one lighter.
Traditionally and in tournaments, these colors are red and white, but black and red, as well as dark- and light-stained wooden pieces, are popular in the United States.
The darker side is commonly referred to as "Black," while the lighter side is referred to as "White."
Men and kings are the two types of pieces.
Men are solitary beings.
Kings are made up of two men of the same color stacked on top of each other.
Crowned refers to the bottom piece.
Some sets include pieces with a crown molded, engraved, or painted on one side, allowing the player to simply flip the piece over or place the crown-side up on the crowned man to distinguish kings from men.
Indentations are frequently used on pieces to aid in stacking.

Men

Uncrowned pieces or men take one step diagonally forward and capture an opponent's piece by taking two steps in the same line, jumping over the piece on the first step.
Multiple enemy pieces can be captured in a single turn if they are captured by a single piece making successive jumps; the jumps do not have to be in the same line and may "zigzag" or change diagonal direction.
Men can only jump forwards in American checkers; men can jump both forwards and backward in international draughts and Russian draughts.

Kings

When a man reaches the king's row, also known as the crown head, the farthest row forward, he becomes a king and is marked by placing an additional piece on top of the first man crowned, as well as gaining additional powers such as the ability to move backward and capture backward in variants where they cannot already do so.
A king, like men, can make many jumps in a single round as long as each one captures an enemy man or king.
In international draughts, kings, also known as flying kings, can move unlimited distance along unblocked diagonals and capture an opponent man by jumping to any of the empty squares immediately behind it.
It's possible because jumped pieces stay on the board until the turn is finished.
Because jumped pieces remain on the board until the turn is finished, it is conceivable to reach a situation in a multi-jump move where the flying king is prevented from capturing any further by a piece that has already jumped.
In American checkers, flying kings are not employed; a king's main advantage over a man is the ability to move and capture both backward and forwards.
Sternhalma, also known as Chinese checkers in the United States and Canada or Chinese Checkers in the United Kingdom, is a German strategy board game that can be played by two, three, four, or six persons, either alone or with partners.
The game is a simplified and modernized version of the Halma game.
The goal is to use single-step moves or moves that leap over other pieces to race all of one's pieces across the hexagram-shaped board to "home”, the corner of the star opposite one's starting corner.
The remaining players continue the game to determine who comes in second, third, fourth, fifth, and last.
The rules are basic enough that even small children can participate.

Poker Vs Checkers

The Poker game and the Checkers game are games where you need to know the rules and gave have appropriate skills. In the poker card game, every player strives to make the highest-ranking hand possible with only five cards. In contrast, checkers is a family of two-player strategy board games that feature diagonal moves of uniform game pieces and mandatory captures by jumping over opponent pieces. You can play checkers online on the internet. If you are interested in real money gaming, you can play poker and win real money daily.

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Draught Game FAQs

1.) Which sport is also called draughts?

Checkers is a game that is also known as Draughts.

2.) Is Draughts and Chess same?

No. The physical board and game pieces of chess and draughts but rules are different.

3.) What are the rules to checkers?

Each player has 12 pieces and the goal is to capture all of the opponent's pieces by hopping over them.

4.) Is checkers or chess better?

Checkers is just as difficult to master as chess game.