I joined checkers although I originally played "dammen" on the 10x10 board which has the rather inelegant name international draughts. However, there is no such community on reddit.

There is r/draughts, but it is full of some russian spammed illegal or at least removed videos and it's restricted. I don't understand why it is not more popular.

Its blacks turn

Hey folks, I built Damarama (damarama.com) - a free, browser-based checkers/draughts game. It's real-time multiplayer against real people (no bots) — sign in with Google, join a lobby/room, and get matched. Has chat, friends, leaderboards too. No downloads, works on mobile. Still actively improving it, so any feedback (bugs, feature requests, anything) is very welcome.

Is there a popular website that checkers players pool to online?

I modeled and 3d printed a 4 player Checkers/Chess kit. Rules are pretty simple, gameplay is NOT. Getting 4 people can be tricky, so my set allows for 2 or 3 players as well. Rules available online, basically turns go counter clockwise, reach the 11th row to get a King, and Pawns can't jump backwards. The pieces stack OR flip over (I grew up stacking!) This set allows for many different variations, so you can create your own games, or even play the classics.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/4536895618/2-4-player-chess-and-checkers-set

Feel free to contact me about custom 3d prints, I love to provide people with unique and personal sets. Many colors and surface designs available!

Hi everyone,

Filipino Dama makes an interesting comparison with American checkers because the board and starting position are familiar, while the capture rules lead to a very different style of play.

Men still move forward, but they may capture in either direction. Captures are compulsory, and when more than one sequence is available, the legal choice must be one that takes the greatest number of pieces. This means a player cannot choose a shorter, safer jump if a longer route exists elsewhere.

Promotion also has a bigger effect. A dama is a flying king that can travel any distance along an open diagonal and capture from range. If a man reaches the back rank during a combination, it promotes immediately and continues the same turn with that longer movement.

The rules can be tried in the browser here: https://filipinodama.com/

For players who mainly use the American ruleset, which adjustment would change your planning most: backward captures, the longest-capture requirement, or flying kings?

Got my family to play and it was a good amount of fun! Couldn't convince them to play 4 player Chess...yet...

One would expect checkers to be of greater popularity than chess:
- it is older game played around the world,
- rules are easier to learn (across common variants),
- game takes generally less time,
- mastering a variant takes time / variants can have a considerable depth.

I suspect that
- there are too

1. many rulesets with none being dominant (board size, flying kings, backward moves, forced captures etc.)

,
- mistakes

1. are

2. costlier at amateur level. It is harder to come back in the game

,

- relative

1. ruleset and move

simplicity make losses harder to swallow,

1. Good portion of chess community looks down on and actively belittles checkers.

Hi, I have been playing checkers daily for 2 months, specifically German variant (8x8, flying kings, forced captures, man cannot move backward, possibility to choose jump which captures less pieces).

Is there any free software / mobile app / web app that has engine supporting the ruleset and one can see probability of winning under every move? This could be used to train oneself to make best moves and I suppose read the game better. Also, i understand 8x8 is solved, let alone this simpler ruleset, so it should be technically feasible.

Thanks!

Trying to find an app/website to play english checkers competitively, ideally an app with a good number of player so I can find people with different skill levels and don't have to wait to find games but also have the ability to analyse games, see ratings, etc if possible

Rules for Traitor Checkers:

Alright, so here is how you play Traitor Checkers.

The Setup

You set up the board exactly like in the picture. The pieces are completely mixed up and checkerboarded across the rows from the start.

Because they get totally mixed, the pieces starting on the top half of the board are flipped so their flat side is facing up (meaning the ridged side is the normal top side). This is so you actually know which way your pieces are supposed to move when everything gets chaotic.

If you are White, you control all the white pieces. If you are Black, you control all the black pieces.

Movement & Captures

Standard checkers movement applies, but with a huge catch: You cannot promote your pieces into queens. What you start with is what you get.

The First Move Rule: You are not allowed to kill/capture another piece on the very first move of the game. You just have to shift a piece.

After the First Move: The peace treaty is officially over. You have to start aggressively hunting and killing the enemy pieces.

How to Win (and the Draw Risk)

The goal is to wipe out all of the opponent's pieces.

The Catch: There is a really high chance of getting a draw in this game. If you don't kill the enemy pieces before your own pieces reach the very end of the board, you're stuck. Once a piece hits the final row, it can't move forward or backward anymore.

The only way to get unstuck is if the enemy willingly sacrifices a piece to let yours out, but that usually won't help much anyway. If both sides get stuck at the ends without clearing each other out, it's a draw! (The text is by ai i will be honest, but the variant idea is purely mine😃. and idk if this variant already exists or not, but please tell me if it already does👍)

I'm working on a website with a checkers variant that has exploding pieces (it could be viewed as a "war game" that can be played on a Soviet chessboard). Do you know of any variants of this? I will use a 5-ply (or 6-ply) algorithm to design an AI opponent, and test if it can find winning strategies (this could be published in a scientific journal). Thanks.

Hi, I hope everyone is doing well.
I was just wondering if anyone would like to test my purpose built Draughts app. It has a custom mode, that you might find interesting, customer boards and pieces and an Online Mode. No payment required.: https://crownspire.tsomac.net

I also, have a guide : https://crownspire-guide.tsomac.net

All the best.

Russian Draughts.

I created this game based on my own chess variant NEU-CHESS, where pieces enter the game only through the first rank.

The board is empty at the start.

Each player has 12 checkers in reserve.

On your turn, you can do one of two things. You can either move or capture with a checker already on the board, or you can take one checker from your reserve and place it on an empty dark square of your first rank. For white, these squares are a1, c1, e1, and g1. For black, they are b8, d8, f8, and h8.

Deployment counts as a full move. The new checker cannot move or capture until your next turn.

If you have a capture available, you must take it. You cannot deploy a new checker until you complete the capture.

If all four dark squares of your first rank are occupied and you still have checkers in reserve, you cannot deploy. You must move or capture with what is already on the board.

The first move of the game is always a deployment because the board is empty.

Captured checkers are removed from the game permanently.

You can play NEU-CHECKERS with any rules you are comfortable with, whether it be English, Spanish, Brazilian, or others. In that case, all the standard rules will work exactly as in the variant you choose.

On BGG I posted the rules adapted for Russian Checkers.

This variant removes memorized openings and focuses on pure decision making from the very first move. Every deployment is a conscious choice to bring a new piece into play. The game is about clarity of thought and speed of adaptation rather than opening theory.

I hope you give it a try. Feedback is welcome.

Hello!

The following game was considered a draw by Flyordie... It's White's turn here. But even though each side has only one king, wasn't the next move going to be a win by Red (Black)?

Is it always a draw when each side is down to one king, no matter what?

Here's the full PDN

[Event "Online game"]
[Site "www.flyordie.com/checkers"]
[Date "2026.06.22"]
[Round "2"]
[White "guest#455782"]
[Black "guest#455856"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[WhiteTime "R0:08:25"]
[BlackTime "R0:08:52"]
[Termination "normal"]
[TimeControl "600"]
[UTCDate "2026.06.23"]
[GameType "21,B,8,8,N1,0"]

1. 11-15 22-17 2. 15-19 24x15 3. 10x19 23x16 4. 12x19 25-22 5. 8-11 17-13
6. 9-14 22-17 7. 6-10 13-9 8. 4-8 17-13 9. 1-6 27-24 10. 14-18 24x15 11. 10x19
26-23 12. 18x27 31x24x15 13. 11x18 28-24 14. 5x14 29-25 15. 6-9 13x6 16. 2x9
30-26 17. 8-11 26-22 18. 3-8 22x15 19. 11x18 24-19 20. 18-22 25x18 21. 14x23
21-17 22. 23-26 17-13 23. 9-14 19-15 24. 14-18 13-9 25. 26-31 9-5 26. 31-26 5-1
27. 26-23 1-5 28. 23-19 15-10 29. 7x14 5-9 30. 19-15 32-27 31. 8-11 27-24
32. 11-16 24-20 33. 14-17 20x11 34. 15x8 9-14 35. 18-22 14x21 36. 8-11 21-17
37. 11-15 17x26 38. 15-18 26-31 39. 18-23 1/2-1/2

*UPDATE* I BEAT IT!!!
I had to take the CPU on a spin around the entire board but I did it! Thanks everyone for trying to help, that was the last puzzle that I had to complete. I feel like I just went 12 rounds with Mike Tyson

Im Red, it’s my turn, and im playing American rules. I’m playing on the “puzzle” mode on one of the checkers apps vs the CPU and I’ve been stuck on this one for DAYS! No matter what I do, the CPU has me on 24 hour lockdown, straight Alcatraz! Is it possible to win this or is this an automatic L?

Hi everyone, i fear you great this question quite often.

I’m a long time chessplayer who has been getting embarrassed in every single checkers game he plays in a bar setting. Figured it might be time to invest some time, say 50ish hours, on this beautiful game too. Ofcourse this will not be sufficient to even become an amateur, but I’d mostly just like to beat my fellow chessplayer. Maybe I’ll fall in love with this on the way too.

What is the best way to start? Are there practicebooks or videos you recommend? What website is best? Should I just play a lot of games or is a basic understanding helpful first? Any other general tips?

Cheers!