This Checkers Game Guide is about the timeless board game that has found a place at Gamerisms following the classic games of chess and backgammon. This article details checkers game terms, rules, jumping and capturing and is followed by a description and tips about tournament play online for all skill games.
Ever wonder how checkers came to be? We play this board game with friends and family and we seldom realise that the game has a long and colorful history behind it.
If you like to play skill games online, the checkers game terms, rules, info and strategies following will get you in the game!
This board game between 2 players who rotate turns begins with a set of 12 discs of red or black. The board is divided into a grid of 64 squares, 32 black and 32 red.
In the opening position, each player places their 12 pieces on the dark squares nearest to their edge of the board.
The game commences with the black moving first and continues for each player in turn.
Checkers is believed to have originated in the desert country of Egypt where it was known as Alquerque around 650 BC, though there are caves from 1400 BC that depict Alquerque like images.
The game was played by philosophers and thinkers such as Plato and Homer as it provided immense mental challenge.
This game closely resembles modern checkers as it features similar flat pieces with dark and light colours, a lattice based board and the aim of capturing the opponent's pieces.
The modern version is believed to have conceived in the 12th century in the south of France where it combined the basics of Alquerque on a chessboard. It made its way to England in the 16th century with the name of Draughts and by the late 1900, had spread to most of Europe with formalised rules, moves and procedures being extensively recorded and covered.
Checkers is the common name in North America and likewise, many countries have their own localised names and rules, all variants from the original Alquerque.
A piece can only be moved diagonally on to the dark squares until it has been crowned as the king. Players capture their challenger's pieces by jumping over them diagonally to the next empty diagonal space if available. The jumped pieces are then captured and removed from the board.
If you can make a jump, you have no option but to proceed, however if there are several jumps available, you select one. A player cannot jump their man/piece or the same piece twice in the same move.
Additionally, a player is permitted to make multiple jumps if the pieces of the challenger's pieces are arranged in that manner.
It is possible to change the direction of the jump. For example, if one piece is captured by jumping on the next diagonal, another piece may be captured by jumping in the left direction at the same time.
There are many types of tournaments to play online. This is a brief explanation and checker game rules. Arcade tournaments are played against other players and the highest score wins the prize pot.
Two types available are Instant Prize or Jackpot.Instant Prizes are awarded for the top score in a competition involving up to 10 players.
Jackpot Tournaments end at a pre-set finish time. The jackpot increases for each player entry, therefore, the more players, the larger the Jackpot.After the closing time, the winner is notified and payouts are deposited to their account.
As with any skill game, the results of tournaments are based mainly on skill, not luck.
When playing skill games online and due to proprietary algorithms, the element of luck has been significantly reduced.
Additionally, players are matched based on their skill levels that ensures a level playing field for online skill games.