Players alternate turns. On your turn you move one of your pieces one square diagonally forward to an empty dark square. Ordinary pieces, called men, cannot move sideways or straight ahead.
How do you play checkers?
Quick answer: Set up 12 pieces each on the dark squares, then take turns moving one piece diagonally forward; jump over an opponent's piece to capture it, and win by capturing or blocking all enemy pieces.
Playing checkers comes down to a handful of clear rules that you can learn in a single sitting. Here is the whole flow from start to finish.
Take turns moving
Capture by jumping
If an opponent's piece sits diagonally next to yours and the square just beyond it is empty, you must jump over it and remove it from the board. If another jump is available from the landing square, you keep jumping in the same turn.
Reach the far side
When one of your men reaches the last row on the opponent's side it becomes a king, which can move and capture both forward and backward.
Ready to put it into practice?
Read the full rules