Play Checkers

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Checkers rules

Components

Checkers is played on a 8x8 board with alternating dark and light squares.

Each player has 12 identical pieces (disks), one player has light (white) pieces, the other player has dark (black) pieces.

Objective

The goal is to capture all of the opponent’s pieces or block them so they cannot move.

Setup

Each player’s 12 pieces are placed on the dark squares of the first three rows on their side of the board.

Turns

Players alternate turns.

Pieces move diagonally forward to an adjacent unoccupied dark square.

A piece may capture an opponent’s piece by jumping over it to an empty dark square immediately beyond it in a diagonal line. Multiple captures are allowed in a single turn if subsequent jumps are available after each capture.

On their turn a player must capture if a capture is available, or otherwise make a regular move.

If multiple capture sequences are available, the player may choose any one of them.

King promotion

When a piece reaches the last row on the opponent’s side, it is crowned as a King.

Kings may move and capture diagonally forward and backward.

Game end

The game ends when a player has captured all of the opponent’s pieces or a player blocks the opponent so that they have no legal move.

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