Play Spanish Draughts Online
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Spanish belongs to the Latin branch of the draughts family and is played on a 8×8 board with 12 per side. For centuries the standard draughts game across Spain and Latin America. Below the board you will find the full rules, a step-by-step how-to, strategy tips and answers to the questions players ask most.
About Spanish Draughts
Spanish Draughts, called damas across the Spanish-speaking world, is a venerable eight by eight game with twelve men a side. Its men are conservative, moving and capturing only in the forward diagonal, but its kings are flying, sweeping any distance along an open diagonal and landing wherever they choose after a jump. This pairing of restrained men and far-ranging kings gives the game a character all its own. Capturing is mandatory and governed by a maximum rule: you must take the line that removes the greatest number of pieces, and if two lines tie on count the one capturing the most kings takes precedence. Because men cannot jump backward, promotion becomes a central strategic goal, and the first flying king often dictates the flow. Traditional across Spain and much of Latin America, damas carries centuries of history in its measured, tactical play.
Spanish Draughts at a glance
| Goal | Capture or block all enemy pieces while obeying the maximum-capture rule. |
|---|---|
| Board | 8×8 |
| Pieces | 12 per side |
| Kings | Flying (long-range) |
| Capturing | Forced; men forward only; maximum |
| Difficulty | Traditional & tactical |
| Family | Latin checkers |
| Good to know | For centuries the standard draughts game across Spain and Latin America. |
How to play Spanish Draughts
Set up the board
Place your twelve men on the dark squares of the three nearest rows, leaving the central two rows empty. The setup mirrors standard checkers, but the flying king and forward-only men shape a distinct game.
Moving your men
Men slide one square diagonally forward only, and they also capture only forward. Since a man can never strike backward, protecting your rear ranks depends on reaching a promotion.
Capturing pieces
Men jump forward over an adjacent enemy into the empty square beyond. Capturing is compulsory, and you must take the line that removes the maximum pieces, with ties decided in favor of capturing more kings.
Crowning kings
A man that finishes on the far row is crowned into a flying king. The king then glides any distance along an open diagonal and can capture a distant piece, choosing its landing square beyond it.
Winning the game
You win by capturing every enemy piece or by leaving your opponent with no legal move. With flying kings and the maximum rule, a single forced sequence can swing the game decisively.
The story of Spanish Draughts
Draughts arrived in the Iberian Peninsula along the medieval trade and cultural routes that spread Alquerque and its board games across the Mediterranean. Spanish players adapted the game to the 64-square board and settled on forward-only men paired with the powerful flying king.
As Spain built its overseas empire, damas traveled with settlers and became deeply rooted throughout Latin America, where it remained the common draughts game for generations. Regional clubs and a shared tradition of play grew across two continents.
The maximum-capture rule with its king tiebreak became a defining feature, lending Spanish draughts a tactical edge distinct from the freer Russian or the strict Italian games. It endures today as a treasured traditional pastime in the Spanish-speaking world.
Spanish strategy: how to win more games
- Always compute the maximum capture, since the rule can be steered to force the opponent into a losing line.
- Protect your back rank with structure, as men cannot capture backward to defend it.
- Fight for the main diagonal so your king controls the longest sweep.
- Advance men in mutually supporting groups to avoid clean single-jump losses.
- Use the king-count tiebreak to shape which forced capture your opponent must play.
- Simplify into a flying-king ending when ahead, where technique converts the win.
Advanced Spanish tactics
- Set maximum-rule traps that compel an opponent's forced capture to shatter their own position.
- Master the flying king versus king-and-man ending that recurs in Spanish endgames.
- Calculate promotion breakthroughs where a sacrificed man forces a crowning recapture.
- Use quiet waiting moves to leave your opponent only a ruinous mandatory jump.
- Exploit the forward-only limitation of enemy men to build unbreakable blockades.
- Herd a lone enemy king toward the corner with a coordinated king and man.
- Time exchanges so the maximum rule works for you and against your opponent.
Common mistakes to avoid in Spanish
- Ignoring the mandatory maximum-capture rule - which forfeits the turn or drops material, so instead evaluate every jump line and always take the one that removes the most pieces.
- Letting a flying king seize the long diagonal - which lets it dominate the board from a corner, so instead contest that main diagonal early and deny the enemy king a clear runway.
- Remembering men capture forward only and forgetting to guard from behind - which loses men to king raids, so instead cover rear squares since only your kings can strike backward.
- Promoting into a losing piece count - which loses the maximum tie decided by most kings, so instead crown only when the resulting king and material tally favors you.
Spanish variations and related rule sets
Spanish Draughts FAQ
What is damas?
Damas is the Spanish word for draughts, and Spanish Draughts is its traditional form on an eight by eight board. It features forward-only men and flying kings.
Do men capture backward in Spanish Draughts?
No. Spanish men move and capture only forward, much like American and Italian men. Backward striking is reserved entirely for the flying kings.
Are Spanish kings flying?
Yes. A king slides any number of empty squares along a diagonal and can jump a distant piece, landing on any free square beyond it, which makes it very powerful.
Is there a maximum-capture rule?
Yes. You must take the capturing line that removes the greatest number of pieces, and when two lines tie the one capturing more kings takes priority.
How does the king tiebreak work?
If two capturing lines remove the same number of pieces, you must play the one that captures the greater number of kings. This resolves ties that the raw count cannot.
How is Spanish different from Italian Draughts?
Both have forward-only men, but Spanish kings fly while Italian kings do not, and Italian forbids men from capturing kings. Spanish has no such prohibition.
How many pieces start the game?
Each side begins with twelve men on the dark squares of the first three rows, the standard eight by eight arrangement.
Why is promotion so important here?
Because men cannot capture backward, an ordinary man is limited, while a flying king dominates. Being first to crown often decides the game.
Where is Spanish Draughts played?
It is traditional throughout Spain and across much of Latin America, where it has been the standard draughts game for centuries.
Can men capture kings?
Yes. Unlike Italian rules, Spanish men may capture kings, provided the jump follows the maximum-capture requirement.
Do I always have to jump when I can?
Yes. Capturing is mandatory, and when several lines exist you must choose the maximum, breaking ties by the greater number of kings captured.
Is it similar to pool checkers?
They share flying kings, but Spanish men capture forward only and obey a maximum rule, while pool men capture both ways with no maximum, so the games play quite differently.
Keep learning
- How kings work
- Is capturing mandatory?
- Full rules for every checkers variant
- The complete checkers and draughts glossary
Last updated .