How to play Checkers (Standard)

Checkers is the board game most of us met first, long before anyone called it a mind sport. It deserves more respect than it gets. The rules take a minute to learn, and the game underneath them has real depth, real traps, and no luck at all.

The board and the pieces

The board is eight by eight, and only the dark squares are in play. Each player starts with twelve men on the dark squares of their first three rows.

Men move one square diagonally forward, and capture by jumping: over an enemy piece, onto the empty square just beyond it. In checkers, men capture forward only. Jumps chain together, so one man can take two or three pieces in a turn if the squares line up.

Reach the far row and your man is crowned a king. A king moves and captures one square diagonally in any direction, forward or back. Crowning ends the move: a man that jumps onto the back row is crowned and stops there, even if another jump is waiting.

How you win

You win when your opponent cannot move: every piece captured, or everything they have left blocked. Your opponent can also resign, and if their clock runs out, you win on time.

The rules that matter

Capturing is compulsory. If a capture is on the board for you, you must take one. But unlike draughts, any capture will do: when you have a choice of captures, you choose freely, and you do not have to take the longest.

How this differs from draughts. The two games share a board and starting position, so it matters to know which one you are sitting down to. In checkers, men capture forward only, kings step a single square at a time, and any capture satisfies the rule. In draughts, men capture backward too, kings fly the length of a diagonal, and the longest capture is forced. If you grew up with one, take a moment before staking on the other.

Draws. A game is drawn when the same position appears for the third time, or when twenty-five moves each pass with only kings moving and nothing captured. You can also offer your opponent a draw, up to three offers each per game. On Dream Games a drawn game means nobody loses their stake.

How a match works on Dream Games

Both players put up the same stake, and both stakes are set aside before the first move. The winner takes 90% of the pot and we keep 10% as our fee. If the game is a draw, both players get their stake back in full and we take nothing.

Each player has ten minutes on the clock for the whole game. Your clock only runs while it is your turn. Run out of time and you lose, even if you are ahead on the board.

Try it

The best way in is simply to play. Practice is free: pick a bot on easy, medium or hard, or send a friend a link. Nothing is staked and nothing is recorded, so you can experiment as much as you like.

When you are ready to play for something, find an opponent in the lobby. You see the stake and the payout before you accept, and nothing leaves your balance until you say yes.