About English Checkers
The rule that shapes English checkers is compulsory capture. If a jump is available, it has to be taken, which means a large part of skilled play is arranging positions where your opponent’s only legal move is the one that hands you something. Deliberate sacrifices are not a flourish here, they are standard technique.
Chain captures extend the same logic. A jump that opens another jump keeps going within the same turn, so a single misplaced piece can cost three. The game, also known as draughts, ships with three modes covering solo play against the computer, an online opponent, and two people taking turns at the same machine.
How to play
Move a piece diagonally forward one square, or jump an adjacent enemy piece when the square behind it is empty. Reaching the far row promotes a piece to a king, which may then move backwards as well as forwards. You win by capturing every opposing piece or leaving your opponent no legal move.
Controls
- Choose a mode on the opening screen before the first move.
- Click a piece to select it, then click the square you are moving to.
- Chain captures continue in the same turn, so keep clicking until no jump remains.
- Diagonals are much easier to trace on a computer display.
Tips
- Hold your back row as long as you can, since those squares are where your opponent’s kings would be made.
- Work out the full exchange before taking a jump, because a chain reply can turn one piece into three.
- Advance pieces in connected pairs so they cannot be picked off one at a time.
