Play Free Checkers Online
Beat the computer at American Checkers - or take on the world in live multiplayer.Checkers.now is a free online checkers site where you can play instantly - no download, no account, no interruptions. The board below is a full game of American Checkers against a computer opponent you can set to Easy, Medium or Hard. Slide a piece onto a highlighted square to move, jump your opponent to capture, and reach the far row to crown a king.
Beyond the classic 8x8 game we host eleven authentic draughts variants from around the world, including International, Russian, Pool, Italian and Brazilian. Sharpen up on the daily challenge, climb the leaderboards, or challenge a friend to a real-time game in online multiplayer. Everything here is free, forever.
About American Checkers
American Checkers, known in Britain as English Draughts, is the version most people picture when they hear the word checkers. It is played on the dark squares of an 8x8 board with twelve pieces a side, and its rules are famously lean. Men slide one square diagonally forward and capture by jumping forward only, so every backward threat comes from a crowned king. Kings themselves are non-flying, stepping just one square at a time in any diagonal direction. Capturing is mandatory, but you are free to pick among the jumps on offer because there is no maximum-capture rule to obey. Reaching the far row crowns a man and immediately ends your turn, which shapes much of the tempo play. Simple to learn yet astonishingly deep, the game was weakly solved by researchers in 2007 who proved that perfect play leads to a draw.
American Checkers at a glance
| Goal | Capture or block every one of your opponent's pieces. |
|---|---|
| Board | 8×8 |
| Pieces | 12 per side |
| Kings | Non-flying (one square) |
| Capturing | Forced; men forward only |
| Difficulty | Great for beginners |
| Family | Standard checkers |
| Good to know | Weakly solved in 2007 - perfect play by both sides is a draw. |
How to play American Checkers
Set up the board
Place your twelve men on the dark squares of the three rows nearest you. Both players use only the dark squares, leaving the middle two rows empty so the armies face each other across a no-man's-land ready for the first slide.
Moving your men
A man moves one square diagonally forward onto an empty dark square. Men never move sideways or backward in American Checkers, so plan carefully because ground you give up in front cannot be reclaimed until you crown a king.
Capturing pieces
Jump diagonally forward over an adjacent enemy piece into the empty square beyond, removing the jumped piece. Captures are mandatory, and if another jump is available from the landing square you must continue the same turn.
Crowning kings
When one of your men reaches the far back row it is crowned with a second disc and becomes a king. Crowning ends your move at once, and from then on the king may step and jump one square in any diagonal direction.
Winning the game
You win by capturing all twelve enemy pieces or by blocking them so the opponent has no legal move. If neither side can force a win the game is drawn, which perfect play always produces between two flawless opponents.
The story of American Checkers
Checkers descends from an ancient family of capture games, with the closest ancestor being Alquerque, played across the Mediterranean world for well over a thousand years. Around the twelfth century someone transplanted Alquerque onto the sixty-four square chessboard, and the forced-capture, diagonal-movement game we recognize today began to take shape in southern Europe.
The English-speaking world settled on a compact ruleset with non-flying kings and forward-only capture for men, and this became known as draughts in Britain and checkers in North America. By the nineteenth century the game had a rich competitive literature, with published analyses of openings and endgames that rivaled early chess theory in depth and rigor.
In 2007 a team led by Jonathan Schaeffer announced that checkers had been weakly solved, showing that with perfect play from the standard starting position the game is a draw. It was the most complex game solved at the time and a landmark in artificial intelligence and computer science.
American strategy: how to win more games
- Keep your back row intact as long as possible to deny the opponent easy crowning squares.
- Trade pieces when you are ahead in material, since simplification magnifies a one-piece lead.
- Watch for forced jump sequences that let you give one piece to win two.
- Advance your men in connected phalanxes so no single piece can be jumped without a recapture.
- Aim to be the first to crown, as an early king roams backward while enemy men cannot.
- Count tempo carefully in the endgame; whoever is forced to move first often loses the opposition.
Advanced American tactics
- Study the three standard opening losses so you never walk into a known trap from move one.
- Learn the first-position endgame where three kings beat two, a bedrock of winning technique.
- Use the shot and the two-for-one to convert small positional edges into decisive material.
- Master the concept of the bridge, holding squares that stop an enemy man from ever crowning.
- Exploit the dog hole on the double corner side, where a trapped piece is worth far less.
- Time your exchanges so you seize the opposition and drive the enemy king into a corner.
- In three-move ballot play, prepare specific defenses for the sharpest forced openings.
Common mistakes to avoid in American
- Breaking the back row too early - which lets the opponent slide a man in to crown, so instead hold your two anchor squares and only give up back-rank guards when forced.
- Pushing a lone man deep into enemy territory - which hands over a free forced trade, so instead advance men in supported pairs where a recapture is always waiting.
- Ignoring a two-for-one shot before you move - which quietly loses a piece to a setup jump, so instead count every capture sequence for both sides before committing.
- Racing to crown a king on an exposed square - which lets the new king be pinned or swapped off at once, so instead promote where the king has a safe exit to work from.
American variations and related rule sets
American Checkers FAQ
Can men capture backward in American Checkers?
No. Ordinary men jump only in the forward diagonal direction. Backward captures are reserved for kings, which is a defining trait that separates American rules from Russian or International draughts.
Is capturing mandatory?
Yes, if a jump is available you must take it. However, when several different captures are possible you may choose whichever one you like, because American rules include no maximum-capture requirement.
What happens when a man reaches the last row?
It is immediately crowned as a king and your turn ends. Even if the newly crowned king could theoretically continue a jump, the crowning stops the sequence right there.
How do kings move?
Kings are non-flying, meaning they step or jump exactly one square along any diagonal, forward or backward. They cannot glide long distances the way flying kings do in other variants.
How many pieces does each player start with?
Each side begins with twelve men placed on the dark squares of their first three rows, leaving the two central rows empty at the start of the game.
Can the game end in a draw?
Yes. If neither player can force a capture or block, or a position repeats, the game is drawn. Between two perfect players the game is always a draw, as proven in 2007.
What is the three-move restriction?
Tournament play often uses a three-move ballot, drawing the first three moves at random to balance the openings. This prevents strong players from steering every game into a narrow book they have memorized.
Do I have to take the jump that captures the most pieces?
No. Unlike International draughts, American Checkers has no maximum rule. You must jump if you can, but any legal jump satisfies the requirement.
Why is it called English Draughts?
The game spread through England for centuries under the name draughts, and American settlers carried it across the Atlantic where it became known simply as checkers.
What is the opposition?
Opposition is a timing relationship in king-and-man endings where the player not on the move controls the key squares. Grabbing the opposition often decides otherwise even endgames.
Is the first move an advantage?
The first move confers only a very slight edge and is not enough to win against good defense. The proof that the game is a draw confirms neither side can force victory.
Can I move into a square where I will be captured?
Yes, and sometimes you should. Sacrificing a man to set up a forced multi-jump recapture, known as a shot, is one of the most powerful ideas in the game.
Keep learning
- How to win at checkers: a strategy primer
- The best opening moves in checkers
- Full rules for every checkers variant
- The complete checkers and draughts glossary
Last updated .
More checkers variants to try
Why play checkers at Checkers.now?
Truly free, truly instant
No paywalls, no forced accounts, no download. Open the page and the board is already there, ready for your first move.
Eleven real variants
From the American game most people grew up with to the 10x10 International board the pros play, each variant is implemented with its authentic rules.
An opponent that fits you
Choose Easy for a relaxed game, Medium for a real contest, or Hard when you want the computer to make you earn every king.
Play people, not just bots
Spin up a private room and share the link. Two players, one board, moves streaming live over the connection.
Common questions about Checkers.now
Is Checkers.now free?
Yes, Checkers.now is completely free. You can play every game without paying anything, and you do not even need to sign up or create an account to start. There are no downloads and no hidden fees.
Do I need to download or install anything?
No, there is nothing to download or install. Checkers.now runs entirely in any modern web browser on your phone, tablet or computer, so you just open the page and start playing.
Is Checkers.now safe to use?
Yes, it is safe. We do not require any personal data to play, and the only optional feature that uses an account is signing in with Google to save your stats across devices. If you prefer, you can play as a guest and share nothing at all.
What makes Checkers.now different from other checkers sites?
Checkers.now offers 11 real variants ranging from American checkers to International draughts, plus real-time online multiplayer where two people play on the same shared board. On top of that there is a daily challenge and leaderboards, so there is always a fresh reason to come back.
Who made Checkers.now?
Checkers.now was built by a small independent team of board-game fans who wanted a clean, fast place to play checkers. It is free to use, with no ads-heavy nonsense getting in the way of the game.
Types of checkers and draughts
Checkers is not one game but a whole family. Every country seems to have its own board size, its own kings and its own idea of which capture you are forced to take. Here is how the eleven variants on Checkers.now break down.
Standard checkers
The 8x8 games most of the English-speaking world grew up with. Twelve pieces a side, forced captures and a short trip to king a piece.
International checkers
Big-board draughts. More squares, more pieces, flying kings and combinations that can sweep half a row in a single move.
Slavic checkers
Fast, sharp 8x8 games from Eastern Europe where flying kings and clever promotions decide most games.
Latin checkers
The draughts of Spain, Portugal and Latin America - forced maximum captures reward players who count the longest jump.
Variants checkers
Rule-benders and outliers, from orthogonal Turkish draughts to giveaway checkers where losing all your pieces is the goal.