What is Checkers?
Checkers is one of the most universally played strategy games played universally. Learning what Checkers is is imperative when you’re trying to learn how to play checkers. Checkers is a two-player tabletop board game, sometimes referred to as English Draughts, which is similar to games that have been around for thousands of years.
In fact, game boards resembling modern checkers boards have been discovered by archaeologists unearthing remains in Ur and have been dated back to 3,000 B.C. References to these games can be found in the writings of Plato, Homer, and Queen Hatasu.
How to play checkers
Now that you know what it is, here’s how to play it.
Opposing players sit at opposite ends of the table and each has either dark pieces or light pieces. The standard board is a 10x10 grid of squares of alternating colours of dark and light, but the pieces only occupy the dark squares. Additional board sizes are available in different variations of the game, but the 10x10 is the most common. Each player has 20 game pieces that are typically a circular disk.
Rules for Playing Checkers
Checkers rules are quite simple, but what are the rules of checkers?
Here’s a list.
The two players alternate turns and can only move their own pieces. The dark squares are the only ones that may be occupied on the board. The light squares must remain empty.
Each turn involves the moving of one piece, which can consist of a piece moving forward to a diagonally adjacent square that is unoccupied, or jumping forward over an occupied diagonally adjacent square, provided that the square beyond is also empty.
If a player jumps over their opponent’s piece, they have successfully captured that piece and it is removed from the game.
Each piece is initially referred to as a man, but if it reaches the furthest side of the board it becomes a king. When this happens, the player stacks an additional piece on top of the original to signify the change.
Men may only move forward, but kings can move diagonally forwards as well as backwards.
Multiple pieces maybe jumped by both men and kings provided that there are successive unoccupied squares beyond each piece that is jumped.
How Do You Win at Checkers?
Now that you know the setup and the rules, here are some general strategies on how to win.
These strategies won’t tell you how to always win at checkers, but they will often times work.
The game is won by either capturing all of your opponent’s pieces or trapping their pieces disallowing them to make any more moves. The majority of strategies involve the first goal, but the latter is sometimes achieved.
Don’t be afraid to sacrifice pieces if doing so gives you an advantage.
Controlling the centre of the board is advantageous.
Maintaining your pieces on the back row of your game board will prevent your opponent from gaining any king pieces.
Moving your pieces forward in groups strengthens them.
When you’re in the lead during a game, sacrificing one of your own pieces for your opponents is beneficial for you.
Focus on gaining as many king pieces as possible.
Where to Buy Checkers?
Now that you know so much about this fun game you probably want to know where to buy checkers game and where to buy the best checkers game.
Due to its immense popularity, checkers boards are sold worldwide. Department stores, game stores, and even convenience stores are a good place to look for simple setups.
If you’re looking for a higher quality set though, you may decide to buy wooden checkers game online.