Checkers Rules and Beginner Strategy

The board and setup

Checkers (called Draughts in the UK and many Commonwealth countries) is played on an 8×8 board using only the 32 dark squares. Each player starts with 12 pieces on the three rows closest to them. On DashLink, Red starts at the bottom of the board and Black at the top, and — following American Checkers rules — Red always moves first.

How pieces move

• A normal piece (a “man”) moves one square diagonally forward onto an empty dark square.
• To capture, jump diagonally over an opponent’s piece that is directly next to you, landing on the empty square right behind it. The jumped piece is removed.
• Captures are mandatory. If any of your pieces can jump, you must make a jump that turn — DashLink’s server will reject a normal move while a capture is available.
• Multi-jumps: if your piece lands somewhere it can jump again, it must keep jumping in the same turn. The game will lock you to that piece until the chain is finished.
• Kings: when a piece reaches the far row it is crowned a king. Kings can move and capture diagonally both forwards and backwards.

How to win

You win by capturing all of your opponent’s pieces, or by leaving them with no legal move on their turn — a fully blocked opponent loses even if they still have pieces on the board. Because blocking counts as a win, controlling space is just as important as capturing.

Five strategy tips for beginners

1. Control the centre

Pieces in the middle of the board have two forward options and support each other. Pieces on the edge only have one direction to move and are easy to trap. Aim to move your pieces toward the four central squares early.

2. Keep your back row as long as possible

Your opponent needs to reach your back row to make a king. Leaving two or three back-row pieces in place for most of the game makes it very hard for them to crown. Move them only when you need to or when the endgame begins.

3. Move in pairs

A single piece that runs ahead can be captured for free. Advance pieces so they sit diagonally behind one another; a jumped piece is then immediately recaptured, which discourages your opponent from attacking.

4. Use forced captures against your opponent

Because jumps are compulsory, you can “give away” one piece to force your opponent to jump into a square where you then capture two or three of theirs. Before every move, check what your opponent will be forced to do next — this single habit wins more games than anything else.

5. Trade when you are ahead

When you have more pieces, even trades (one for one) make your advantage bigger in proportion. When you are behind, avoid trades and look for blocking positions instead.

Common beginner mistakes

• Forgetting that captures are mandatory and walking into a double jump.
• Moving every piece forward at once, leaving gaps that let enemy pieces slip through to be crowned.
• Chasing a single capture and ignoring the multi-jump your opponent gets in return.
• Keeping kings in a corner where they can be trapped instead of using them actively.

Play Checkers on DashLink

Choose Checkers in the games list, create a room and send the code to a friend, or use “Find Players” to match with someone who is looking for a game right now. You can chat in the side panel while you play, and wins count toward the Checkers leaderboard.