How many checkers pieces

A piece cannot jump over empty squares. Although no one actually says so, it is strongly implied that single pieces cannot jump backwards. A king is allowed to move or jump in any of the four diagonal directions within the limits of the board. A player can also win if the other player resigns or forfeits the game as a result of a violation of the rules.

A game is declared a draw when neither player can force a win. Pask, p. Hopper, p. These judgments are to be made by a referee. Pike, p. After it is decided who makes the first move, neither player is allowed to leave the board without the permission from the other player. If a player leaves, that player may be accompanied by the other player, the referee, or a designee.

As shown in the figures above taken from Jim Loy's Checkers Pages , a legal jump is only possible when the square immediately beyond the opponent's piece is empty. All jumps are forced in checkers, including jumps capturing more than one piece Figure 4 , though if more than one jump is possible a player may choose which jump to take.

The forced-jump rule forms the basis of all tactics in the game of checkers, as it allows one player to control the tempo of the game and thus the position on the board. Similarly to chess, when a regular man reaches the opposite end of the board called "kings row" , it is promoted to a king.

Kings may move or capture either backwards or forwards, but otherwise behave the same way as men: the "flying kings" rule is not present in standard checkers. If a player promotes a man to a king by way of a jump into kings row, the turn ends as soon as the man is kinged, though the king must continue jumping the next turn if a legal jump is available. Once a piece has been jumped, it is removed from the game. If another jump is available after a piece has been removed, the player that captured the first piece must jump the next available piece.

If a player moves their piece all the way to the opposite side of the board, that piece becomes a king. Place another piece of the same color on top of it to signify that it is a king.

Kings can move forwards or backwards, but must stay on the same color as the rest of the pieces. If you want to learn more, like how to block your opponent's moves, keep reading! Did this summary help you? Yes No. Log in Social login does not work in incognito and private browsers. Please log in with your username or email to continue. No account yet? Create an account. Edit this Article.

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Determine who will have the first turn. Before you set up the board, you need to choose who goes first. You can do this based on who won the last game, a coin toss, or by any other method. The person who will go first will take the black checkers and the other will take the white. Set up the board. Sit across from your opponent and place the board between you and your opponent.

The board is made up of 64 alternating dark and light squares which appear in 8 rows of 8. There are 32 light squares and 32 dark squares. Place the board so that each player has a light-colored square on the corner of the board on his or her right side. Place the checkers on the board. Have each player place his pieces on the 12 dark squares in the first three rows closest to him or her.

Each of these three rows should have a total of 4 checkers. Remember that checkers may only move in diagonal directions on the dark squares. In tournament checkers games, each player gets five minutes to make a move. Part 2. Checkers must stay on the dark squares. Jump your opponent's checkers to remove them from the board.

If your checker is in the diagonal space nearest to one of your opponent's checkers, then you can jump and capture that checker. If you have the opportunity to jump your opponent's checker, then the rules state you must jump it. Only one piece may be captured in a single jump; however, multiple jumps are allowed during a single turn.

When a piece is captured, it is removed from the board. If a player is able to make a capture, there is no option; the jump must be made. If more than one capture is available, the player is free to choose whichever he or she prefers. When a piece reaches the furthest row from the player who controls that piece, it is crowned and becomes a king.

One of the pieces which had been captured is placed on top of the king so that it is twice as high as a single piece. Kings are limited to moving diagonally but may move both forward and backward. Remember that single pieces, i. Kings may combine jumps in several directions, forward and backward, on the same turn.

Single pieces may shift direction diagonally during a multiple capture turn, but must always jump forward toward the opponent. The first Checkers-like playing board was discovered by archaeologists in a dig in Mesopotamia now Iraq in the city of Ur.

Carbon dating showed the board to be from about BCE, or more than years old. While the rules of Mesopotamian Checkers are unknown, historians do know the rules of an ancient Egyptian Checkers game called Alquerque.

This version, played on a chess board, was generally played by women much as Mah Jong is played today. Around , the first books were written about the game which was now called Draughts. In , the first Draughts and Checkers championships were played with formal awards given.