Checkers — known as draughts in much of the world — is a deceptively simple classic that has been challenging players for centuries. This free online checkers game plays right in your browser with no download or sign-up. You face a computer opponent, jumping and capturing across the dark squares and racing to crown your pieces as kings.
The rules take a minute to learn, but the game hides real depth: forced captures, multi-jump combinations and king mobility turn a quiet board into a sharp tactical duel.
Checkers descends from a very old family of capture games. Its direct ancestor, alquerque, was played in the ancient Middle East and spread across the Mediterranean — boards have even been found carved into the roofing slabs of an Egyptian temple. Around the year 1100, a player in southern France had the idea of placing alquerque pieces on a chessboard and using diagonal moves, and modern checkers was born.
The version the world calls draughts was standardised in Britain, while a form with 'flying kings' on a larger 10x10 board became international draughts across continental Europe. Checkers also holds a landmark in computing history: in 2007, after nearly two decades of calculation, researchers announced that the game had been 'weakly solved' — with perfect play by both sides, checkers is a draw.
The goal is to capture all of your opponent's pieces, or to leave them with no legal move. Pieces move one square diagonally forward onto an empty dark square. You capture by jumping straight over an adjacent enemy piece into the empty square beyond it, removing the jumped piece — and if another jump is available from the landing square, you must keep jumping in the same turn.
Captures are compulsory: if a jump is available, you have to take it. When one of your pieces reaches the far side of the board it is crowned a king, which can move and capture both forward and backward, making it far more powerful than an ordinary piece.
Click one of your pieces to select it; legal moves and available jumps are highlighted. Click a highlighted square to move or capture. When a multi-jump is possible, keep clicking to continue the chain. Reaching the back row crowns a king automatically.
Because captures are forced, checkers is a game of setting traps and controlling tempo. These principles will lift you well above casual play.
Control the centre. Pieces in the middle of the board have more squares to move to and more capturing options. Occupying the centre squeezes your opponent toward the edges, where their pieces have fewer escape routes.
Turn forced captures into weapons. Since every jump must be taken, you can offer a sacrifice that forces your opponent to jump into a position where you recapture two or more pieces. Always look a move deeper: 'if I move here and they are forced to jump, what can I take back?'
Guard your back row. Keeping your two back-row pieces in place as long as possible stops your opponent from crowning kings. Give up this defensive wall only when you gain a clear advantage in return.
Race for the first king. Kings move both directions and dominate the endgame, so getting the first one is often decisive. Push a piece toward promotion when the path is safe, and try to block your opponent's runners at the same time.
Keep your pieces connected. Advance in supported groups rather than lone runners. A piece with a friendly piece behind it cannot be safely jumped, because you would recapture — so a phalanx is hard to attack.
Trade when you are ahead. If you are up material, exchange pieces evenly. Every trade brings the endgame closer, where your extra piece becomes overwhelming — the fewer pieces on the board, the more a one-piece lead matters.
On the computer's higher levels the AI spots forced-capture traps quickly, so double-check that any sacrifice really wins the material back before you commit — a miscounted jump can flip the game instantly.
How do you win at checkers?
You win by capturing all of your opponent's pieces, or by leaving them with no legal move on their turn. Controlling the centre, forcing favourable captures and crowning the first king are the main routes to victory.
Are captures mandatory in checkers?
Yes. In standard checkers, if a jump is available you must take it, and you must continue a multi-jump if further captures are possible from the landing square. This forced-capture rule is the basis of most tactics.
What is a king in checkers?
A king is a piece that has reached the opponent's back row and been crowned. Unlike a normal piece, a king can move and capture both forward and backward, which makes it much stronger — especially in the endgame.
Is this checkers game free?
Yes — it is completely free to play in your browser against the computer, with no download and no sign-up.
More classic games: Chess, Alquerque, Fox and Geese, Nine Men's Morris, Halma, plus all 100 free games.