#43 - How to Play Checkers

How to Play Checkers

"Crown Me!"
If you don't know what that means, you don't know how to play checkers. Checkers is a fun, simple game that's been around for hundreds of years. It's a good game for kids and adults to play together, and you can easily make your own board and pieces. The version of the game that you'll learn here is formally known as "English checkers." Try it, you'll like it!

Sometimes you'll find yourself without a "real" checkers set. Not to worry! Checkers can be improvised from bottle caps, pieces of paper, or just about anything that can be identified as one color or the other. Checkerboards can be drawn on the sidewalk with chalk if need be. Just remember to have a good time!
The object of the game is to advance across the board in order to capture or block your opponent's checkers until they can't make any more moves. Try to make it all the way to the other side of the board - there are rewards for getting there.
Set up the board

A checkerboard is eight squares by eight squares. The squares alternate colors, one dark, and the next light. Arrange your board, so that a light corner square is to each player's right.
Place twelve pieces of one color on the first three rows of alternating dark squares. Repeat with the other twelve pieces on the other side of the board, again putting all pieces on the dark squares.
Play by the rules

Black always begins play, and players take turns from there. After the game, players switch colors. Here are the essentials:

• Checkers move diagonally, one square forward, always onto a dark square. If all the dark squares diagonal to a piece already have pieces on them, that piece is blocked and another must be moved. Checkers can't move backwards unless they have been "crowned" (see below).
• An opposing piece is captured by jumping (always diagonally) over it to an empty square just beyond it (the piece being captured). Take the captured piece off the board.
• Any number of checkers may be jumped over and captured in just one move, as long as each jump follows the rules. In other words, as long as you keep moving forward on the diagonal, and there are available squares immediately beyond the opposing piece, you can keep jumping. Many players spend most of their time figuring out how to do this. Blocking your opponent's checkers from moving is another important consideration.
• Officially, if an opposing piece is available to be captured, the player whose turn it is must capture that piece. If they fail to do this, the opposing player may a) insist that the moved piece be returned to its original position and the capture made; b) accept the move (but the capture must be made on the next move, if still possible); or c) remove the piece that should have made the capture from the board.

In practice, many people do not require pieces to be captured because they are available. An agreement should be reached beforehand on which method to play by (especially if you're outside of your neighborhood).
Emerge victorious

...or don't, but find out which.
The game is won by the first player to capture, or block, the twelve opposing pieces. Let the games begin!