Play Turkish Draughts Online
Dama played straight, not diagonal - pieces move orthogonally and kings fly like rooksEnjoy a free, no-signup game of Turkish Draughts right in your browser. Dama played straight, not diagonal - pieces move orthogonally and kings fly like rooks Face a computer opponent tuned to three strengths - Easy, Medium and Hard - or invite a friend to a live game on a shared board. Nothing to install, nothing to pay: just open the board and start moving.
Turkish belongs to the Variants branch of the draughts family and is played on a 8×8 board with 16 per side. The only major variant played on straight lines rather than diagonals. 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 Turkish Draughts
Turkish Draughts, known simply as dama, is the most visually distinctive member of the family because it abandons the diagonal entirely. Played on an eight by eight board, each side deploys sixteen men across the second and third rows, so every square of those ranks is used and the light squares matter as much as the dark. Men move straight ahead or sideways, never backward and never diagonally, and they capture in those same forward and sideways directions. Kings move like a rook in chess, gliding any distance along ranks and files and capturing at long range. Captures are mandatory and follow the maximum rule, so you must take the line that removes the most pieces, and captured pieces are lifted from the board immediately. The orthogonal geometry creates tactics unlike any diagonal variant, and the game is hugely popular across Turkey, the Middle East and beyond.
Turkish Draughts at a glance
| Goal | Capture or immobilize every enemy piece using orthogonal movement. |
|---|---|
| Board | 8×8 |
| Pieces | 16 per side |
| Kings | Flying like a rook (ranks and files) |
| Capturing | Forced; forward and sideways; maximum |
| Difficulty | Distinctive |
| Family | Variants checkers |
| Good to know | The only major variant played on straight lines rather than diagonals. |
How to play Turkish Draughts
Set up the board
Place your sixteen men to fill the second and third rows from your side, using every square. Unlike diagonal draughts, both light and dark squares are in play, so the armies stand in solid ranks.
Moving your men
Men move one square straight forward or sideways, never backward and never diagonally. This orthogonal movement is the defining trait of Turkish Draughts and demands a fresh way of seeing the board.
Capturing pieces
Jump an adjacent enemy piece straight forward or sideways into the empty square beyond, and remove the captured piece at once. Capturing is mandatory and you must take the line that removes the maximum pieces.
Crowning kings
A man reaching the far row becomes a king that moves like a rook, sliding any distance along ranks and files. The flying king can capture a distant piece and land on any free square beyond it.
Winning the game
You win by capturing all enemy pieces or by leaving your opponent with no legal move. Because captured pieces are removed immediately, long straight-line combinations can clear a rank in a single sweep.
The story of Turkish Draughts
Turkish Draughts belongs to an old family of orthogonal capture games played across the Ottoman world and the wider Middle East. Rather than adopt the diagonal movement of European draughts, this tradition kept pieces moving along the straight ranks and files of the board.
The game settled on an eight by eight board with sixteen men a side placed on the second and third rows, rook-like flying kings and a mandatory maximum-capture rule. Its straight-line geometry produced a tactical world quite unlike the diagonal games of Europe.
Turkish Draughts remains enormously popular today throughout Turkey, the Middle East, North Africa and beyond, played in homes, cafes and online. Its distinctive movement makes it a favorite for players seeking a fresh challenge different from every diagonal variant.
Turkish strategy: how to win more games
- Always calculate the maximum capture, since the majority rule can force your opponent into a losing straight-line jump.
- Use sideways moves to reposition men quickly across a rank.
- Rush to crown a rook-like king that dominates an entire open file or rank.
- Guard against sideways captures, a threat that has no equivalent in diagonal draughts.
- Keep men supported so any enemy jump into your ranks is answered by a recapture.
- Remember that captured pieces vanish at once, which changes what further jumps remain available.
Advanced Turkish tactics
- Master rook-king endgames where a single flying king sweeps ranks and files to corner a defender.
- Engineer maximum-rule traps along straight lines that compel a ruinous forced capture.
- Exploit the immediate removal of captured pieces to set up chained straight-line jumps.
- Use sideways mobility to create double threats that a forward-only mindset overlooks.
- Blockade enemy men against the back rank where, unable to move backward, they run out of moves.
- Time promotion so your rook-king enters on a fully open file for maximum reach.
- Coordinate two kings to trap a lone enemy king in a corner of the orthogonal grid.
Common mistakes to avoid in Turkish
- Thinking diagonally out of habit - which is wrong since pieces move straight forward and sideways, so instead read moves along ranks and files, never on the diagonals.
- Forgetting men can slide and capture sideways - which misses both threats and defenses, so instead scan left and right as well as ahead for every man you own.
- Mishandling the rook-like flying king - which sweeps entire rows and columns in one move, so instead keep clear files and ranks blocked when the enemy holds a king.
- Skipping the mandatory maximum capture as pieces vanish immediately - which loses tempo since jumped men are removed at once, so instead pick the longest orthogonal chain every turn.
Turkish variations and related rule sets
Turkish Draughts FAQ
How is Turkish Draughts different from other variants?
Pieces move and capture orthogonally, straight forward and sideways, rather than diagonally. Kings move like rooks along ranks and files. This straight-line geometry is unique among the major variants.
How many pieces and where do they start?
Each side has sixteen men placed on the second and third rows, filling every square of those ranks. Both light and dark squares are used, unlike diagonal draughts.
Can men move backward?
No. Men move only straight forward or sideways. Backward movement and backward captures are not allowed for men, so promotion to a king is important for full mobility.
How do kings move?
Kings move like a rook in chess, sliding any number of empty squares along a rank or file and capturing a distant piece, then landing on any free square beyond it.
Is there a maximum-capture rule?
Yes. When several capturing lines are available you must take the one that removes the greatest number of pieces, just as in international-style draughts.
When are captured pieces removed?
Immediately, as each piece is jumped. This differs from international rules where captured pieces stay on the board until the move ends, and it affects which further jumps are possible.
Do men capture sideways?
Yes. Men capture straight forward and straight sideways. The sideways capture is a threat with no counterpart in diagonal variants and must always be watched.
How does a man promote?
A man that reaches the far row is crowned into a rook-like king. From then on it commands entire open ranks and files with long-range movement and captures.
Where is Turkish Draughts popular?
It is widely played across Turkey, the Middle East and parts of North Africa and South Asia, and it has a strong presence on online draughts servers.
Is it harder than diagonal checkers?
It is not necessarily harder, but the orthogonal geometry feels very different, so players from diagonal variants must retrain their sense of which squares are connected.
Can men capture kings?
Yes. Men may capture kings, subject to the maximum-capture rule. There is no prohibition like the one in Italian draughts.
Why does immediate removal matter?
Because a jumped piece is gone at once, it cannot block a later jump in the same sequence, which enables long straight-line captures that would be impossible if pieces lingered.
Keep learning
- How kings work
- What is checkers?
- Full rules for every checkers variant
- The complete checkers and draughts glossary
Last updated .