About the Checkers Game
Checkers is one of the oldest board games around, and it is a perfect first strategy game for a child. You get 12 pieces and your opponent gets 12, and everyone starts on the dark squares at their own end. On your turn you slide one piece one square diagonally forward. The whole game happens on the dark squares, so every move stays on a slant.
Taking pieces is where it gets fun. When an enemy piece is sitting right next to you and the square just past it is empty, you jump over it, land on that empty square, and the piece you jumped is gone. If a jump is on offer you have to take it, and if your piece can keep jumping after it lands, it keeps going in the same turn. Get a piece all the way to the far row and it is crowned a king, shown with a gold ring, which can move and jump both forward and backward. You win when your opponent has no pieces left or is boxed in with no move to make.
Simple tips to win at Checkers
Try to keep your pieces in pairs so a lonely piece is not easy to pick off. Hold your back row steady for a while, because those squares stop the other side from crowning a king. Push toward the far row to make your own kings, since a king is worth far more than a single piece. And always look one move ahead before you jump, as a free capture is sometimes a trap that lets your opponent take two of yours right back.
Why Checkers is good for kids
Checkers teaches a child to slow down and think before acting. Every jump has a trade off, and reading the board a move or two ahead is the same planning skill that helps with math word problems and with reading a situation before reacting. It is turn based and calm, it plays well over a shared screen with a friend or a grownup, and losing a game teaches that you can shake hands and set the board up again.
Frequently asked questions
How do you play Checkers?
Each player has 12 pieces on the dark squares. You move one piece at a time, one square diagonally forward. When an enemy piece sits next to you with an empty square just behind it, you jump over it and take it off the board. If you can jump, you have to. Reach the far row and your piece becomes a king that can move both ways. You win when the other side has no pieces left, or no moves left.
Can I play against a friend or the computer?
Both. Tap vs Computer to play the built in opponent, or tap 2 Players to share one screen and take turns with a friend. The turn label at the top always tells you whose move it is.
Is this Checkers game free?
Yes. Checkers is free with no download and no sign-up, and it works on phones, tablets and computers. Tap New Game to start over any time.