Rules of Checkers and Draughts
Nine styles, written out in full
Checkers is not one game. The board changes size, kings fly or step, men capture backwards or they do not, and half the world calls it draughts. Here are the nine styles King of Checkers plays, each written out and each playable.
The styles
| Style | Board | Pieces | Flying kings |
|---|---|---|---|
| El Rey Efrain Rules | 8 by 8 | 12 | Yes |
| American Checkers | 8 by 8 | 12 | No |
| International Draughts | 10 by 10 | 20 | Yes |
| Brazilian Draughts | 8 by 8 | 12 | Yes |
| Pool Checkers | 8 by 8 | 12 | Yes |
| Russian Shashki | 8 by 8 | 12 | Yes |
| Spanish Draughts | 8 by 8 | 12 | Yes |
| Italian Draughts | 8 by 8 | 12 | No |
| Turkish Dama | 8 by 8 | 16 | Yes |
What actually differs
- Board size. Most styles use 8 by 8. International and its relatives use 10 by 10 with 20 pieces a side, which makes for a longer, more positional game.
- Flying kings. A flying king slides any distance along its diagonal and takes from afar. A stepping king moves one square, like a man that can go backwards.
- Capturing backwards. Whether an uncrowned man may take a piece behind it changes the whole shape of the middlegame.
- Which capture you must take. Some styles let you choose any capture. Others make you take the one that captures the most, and Italian adds a four-level priority on top.
- The crown. In most styles a man crowned mid-capture stops there. In a few it keeps going as a king in the same move, which is how the big combinations happen.