Checkers

Checkers board game with International, English, Brazilian and Russian rules.

International checkers (also called Polish draughts) - The board size is 10X10 with 20 pieces on each side and has flying kings. Unlike in chess the playing fields are numbered just by the numbers from 1 to 50. In this variant of the game, the player with the lightest colored pieces moves first. Pieces, although sometimes bought in a set, originally are sold is groups of eleven pieces all of a like color. This has lead to the coinage of the term draughts dozen. Also, because the lighter color moves first often the lighter colored pieces are more expensive and bought by more experienced players. If there are many sequences to capture, one has to capture the sequence that has the most pieces. If a man touches the kings row from a jump and it can continue to jump backwards, it has to jump backwards, but it is not kinged. It is mainly played in the Netherlands, France, some eastern European countries, some parts of Africa, some parts of the former USSR, and other European countries.

English draughts is our main Checkers game - Also called American checkers or "straight checkers". It is played on an 8X8 board with 12 pieces on each side. Black (the darker color) moves first. Men (the uncrowned pieces) can only move and capture forward. When there is more than one way for a player to jump, one may choose which sequence to make, not necessarily the sequence that will result in the greatest number of captures. However, one must make all the captures in that sequence.

Brazilian checkers - Exactly the same rules as international draughts, but it is played on an 8X8 board with eight "men" (or pieces) to begin the game with. It is mainly played in Brazil.

Russian checkers - Exactly the same rules as Brazilian checkers, but if a man touches the kings row from a jump and it can continue to jump backwards, it has to jump backwards as kings, not men. It is mainly played in some parts in Russia, some parts of the former USSR, and Israel. In many games at the end one adversary has three kings while the other one has just one king. In such a case the first adversary normally wins if (s)he occupies the main diagonal first and then builds the so-called Petrov's triangle.