Saltire: Checkers Offline

Classic checkers offline against the computer, played by the English draughts rules on an 8 by 8 board. Tap a piece, then tap a gold dot to move it. Men move one square diagonally forward. Jump over an enemy piece to take it.

Captures are compulsory, and a piece that can keep jumping must keep going, so one move can take two or three pieces at once. Reach the far row and your man is crowned a king, which moves and jumps both forwards and backwards.

The computer rival starts gentle and gets stronger as you climb. Early on it looks only a move ahead and sometimes slips. By the top of the ladder it searches six moves deep and gives nothing away. Its strength shows above the board.

Every fifth level is a capture puzzle: a set position and a goal such as "win in 2". Take every black piece within that many moves. Each puzzle was checked by search to have exactly one winning first move.

Stuck? A hint shows the best move, worked out at full depth. Undo takes back your last move and the reply to it. Win a match with eight or more pieces left for three stars, or solve a puzzle without a hint.

A match with no capture and no man moved for 20 moves each is a draw. No timer. A level map tracks your stars. Works offline, no wifi needed to play.

Recent changes:
First release.